Like a Second-Hand Suit
by Fortune Cookie Wisdom
Summary: Sam never liked following the rules, her previous life's track record could attest to that. So why did these silly nobles think they could tell her what to do? Nah, she marches to the beat of her own gunfire. The weird fruit was just a bonus. (OC Insert/Sabo's Sibling)
1. Prologue

Summary: Sam never liked following the rules, her previous life's track record could attest to that. So why did these silly nobles think they could tell her what to do? Nah, she marches to the beat of her own gunfire. The weird fruit was just a bonus.

Disclaimer: I'm not a Japanese man by the name Eiichiro Oda. I own Sam, though who owns who is quite debatable. Sam _is_ kind of frightening.

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Prologue: Sam's Worst Wake Up Call

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When Sam first wakes up she's greeted to the sight of a woman who looks like she sucked on a lemon and her face got stuck that way. She wants to tell whoever the hell this is to get their ugly mug out of her face before Sammy takes her gun and gives them a new breathing hole in the middle of their head. But Sam can't do much but blink. Her whole body feels weak, and it pisses her off. How the hell was she supposed to protect herself if she can't even move. Flashes of gushing blood and excruciating pain flashes through her head and she jolts in shock.

That's right, the Marino family had started a turf war over a political marriage with the Costanza family. Sam had been keeping the books for a small branch of Marino family when the shots were fired. She remembers getting shot in the chest three times by an automatic. Sam can still feel her hot blood spilling out of her body all over the cold white tile of of the main kitchen.

She could remember Giuseppa trying to apply pressure and screaming, but it all went black. Now here she was being looked at like she was a dead goldfish by a woman who clearly needed to remove the pole lodged firmly up her ass. Sam went to tell her as much but was shocked by the incoherent babble that fell from her lips. Her tongue went to form words only to be met by gums and no teeth. Sam did the only thing that any rational person would do, she screamed.

It took several hours for Sam to even think about calming down. She had no idea what was going on, all of a sudden she was weaker than a newborn kitten, she could barely see a few inches in front of her, she had the urge to cry every time she panicked, and people now seemed like mighty giants. The more she thought about it a theory started to form, and it made such a sick twisted sort of sense.

Being brought up in Italy, Sam always considered herself a Catholic. The situation she found herself in had her questioning all of her previous beliefs.

Was it possible to be reborn? Why did she have her previous life's memories? Why weren't there pearly gates or hellfire? Sam is sure she had a first-class ticket to eternal hellfire and being poked in the ass by a pitch fork for all eternity. She and Giuseppa had made a pact to meet at the gates of hell to face it together. But now she found herself in a baby body. Was this a second chance?

Sam didn't really understand why she, of all people, would get a second chance. She's sure there are much more qualified people to be reborn. All she wanted was her little Ignazio cuddled up in her lap. She wanted Giuseppa to flick her forehead for being an idiota. Sam wanted her old life back, she didn't need to start over!

She knew she wasn't a good person, and would rather shoot somebody than allow them to lay one hand on her family members. She was a selfish person and had no problem with that. Sam didn't really get the meaning of being a good person. Her life had always been about survival first. When she was a kid it was her and her brother trying to gather the money for rent in the studio apartment they lived in with their mom. A mom who had a cocaine addiction and used every last euro to pay for it. She and her older brother Vincent had to steal, lie, and cheat in order to make sure they weren't living in a cardboard box for the rest of their lives.

Of course the time came where they couldn't make the rent for that month and Vince had essentially sold his soul to the Marino family in order to make ends meet. Sam felt it was her duty as a little sister to help her brother out of the mess he was in and she started running product back and forth through mafia territory. The amount of times she was yelled at, shot at, and hit was better left unsaid. But she made the money to pay off the ridiculous amount of interest the Marino's had charged her fourteen year old brother for 200 euro. By the time she was ready to hand it over her brother was in jail for murder, his girl was knocked up, and everything seemed to be falling down around Sam. Her brother's girl, Tina, didn't want to keep the kid. So it was left for Sam to pick up the pieces.

Ignazio, her nephew, was the one that saved her from having to run drugs for the rest of her life. She had made a plea to the head of the Marino family to do something a bit less risky while looking after her brother's child. The man had agreed and told her she would be keeping the books for a small branch of the family until the kid was fourteen and was initiated into the Marino family.

Sam had already had a plan to disappear well before her little bambino was ever involved in the mafia. It wasn't a good place and wouldn't wish that existence on an any child. No, she had plotted to fake both her and Ignazio's death and to forge new documents. They would have moved to Switzerland and changed every defining physical feature.

That plan was shot to hell now. No one would be there to protect her little one. Giuseppea would of course try, the girl had been included on the plans in case anything went wrong. But she wasn't sure if she would be able to do it without Sam checking for flaws in the execution. It was very likely she could get herself and Ignazio killed by trying to thwart the mafia. But Sam would probably never know how things panned out for her little makeshift family, and that's what got to her the most. She couldn't protect her family anymore.

She wanted to scream, cry, and rage. It was an unfamiliar feeling to her because Sam never had the time or money for screaming at the world. She just kept moving. She could never just break down. Instead, she would pull out her favorite gun and shoot at whatever irritated her. Though that was clearly out of the question right now; and at that moment the gravity of her situation came down on her like a ten ton weight. She was a defenseless baby that didn't have the muscles from years of street fights, bar brawls, and running from the cops. The first tears she had felt in years started crawling down her face. Everything was crashing down around her and there was nothing she could do about it.

She knew that this was the fall of Samantha DiAngelo.

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A/N: I'll just leave this here and see what happens.


	2. Sam Wants a Refund

Chapter 1: Sam Wants a Refund on This Whole Reincarnation Deal

When Sam first met her twin brother she cried. Well, she cried about a lot of things seeing as she was a 18 year old stuck in a baby's body. What made this different was the fact that her twin looked exactly like her nephew. The resemblance was uncanny. It ripped open the wound that she was trying so desperately to heal. She had to keep reminding herself that this baby boy was not her little bambino. He was not the little baby that would use her body as a jungle gym. He was also not the same kid that she taught manners to, and was not the same child that stole her heart when he called her mama.

No, this wasn't the same kid. But the little brat had wormed himself into her heart a little more every time he would curl up into her back, or smile and grip her hand tight. She could feel the same emotions that she felt for her older brother begin to bloom, only they were more protective. This blond little brat was her little brother, now. That meant he was family, and if there was one thing that Sam put above everything it was family. He'd probably have to be protected too if what she saw with their non-existent parents behavior held true.

She'd only seen the sour faced woman and the mustache clad man 4 times since she had awakened as a baby. Sam started to count the days as she laid in her crib and stared at the pristine white walls of the nursery she shared with her little brother. There wasn't much to do. The women who came in periodically, that dressed in a uniform, she could safely assume were the nannies. The nannies would feed them, bathe them, change them (the less said about that the better), and would coo at them.

The people she assumed were her parents were called master and mistress respectfully by the women in the uniform. So she was almost positive that they were her parents. Not that they would be very parent-like by the look of it. They would rather have the help care for their children than do it themselves. They also had quite a bit of wealth seeing as they could afford multiple nannies, and the fact the crib that she laid in was gilded. She could hawk this thing for at least two thousand euro.

In the span of 5 months, she had only seen her assumed parents 4 times. That wasn't a good start, and she would be damned before they hurt her new little brother. Sam knew just how much having an absent parent hurt. Sam couldn't fix everything, she couldn't be a parent when she was the same age as her brother. That would be unfair and awkward for the both of them. But she could be a loving bigger sister who raised hell at every presumed slight to him. She could rebel at the very thought of calling them parents. There were a lot of things that could be done to make sure Sabo knew that the way they were parenting wasn't normal.

It was a struggle for Sam in her last life to understand that her mother was more concerned about her addiction than the care for her children. There was still a lot of resentment that stewed inside of Sam. There was also a lot of anger that she and her brother ended up in the mafia because her mother was so sick. But Sam had decided to put a lock on those emotions until she got a gun and could use some destructive therapy. In fact, Sam had eyed the sour-faced woman's china cabinet one of the few times she was taken out of the nursery. The shattering sound it would all make would be magnificent.

Sam was pulled from her destructive thoughts when her hand started being gummed to death by her little brother. He always knew when she was off in her own world. Sam wonders if it's a twin thing that people always talk about. It was possible, Sam always knows when Sabo is unhappy, or restless. He usually calmed down when she held his hand or rolled into his side.

Sam tugged lightly to get her hand back from Sabo's mouth. She also shot him a look to let him know that she was not, in fact, a teething toy to be used at his leisure. Sam swears the little brat understands her if the grumpy pout that pulls at his lips is anything to go by. Sam rolls over on her stomach to try and stretch her back muscles. She should be able to sit up and crawl in a couple of weeks. She estimates their ages at somewhere between 5 to 7 months. This is mostly from the amount of time she's kept track of, but it's not exact because those first couple weeks upon waking all she could do is grieve.

Now, she decides that she will live for her old family and new younger brother. Samantha isn't a quitter, she would have ripped her nephew a new one if he ever thought quitting on life was the best option. No, to survive is to go further and further no matter what the cost. Sam was kind of tired of just surviving though, she actually wanted to enjoy life this go around. It was a lesson her older brother had tried to teach her, but she was so stubborn and full of pride that she never listened.

Sam is distracted once again when the clop of high-heels and well polished shoes echoes through the nursery. The couple that she assumes are her parents enter the room. They looked so very uncomfortable, and she wonders how the woman gave birth to twins and still had no idea how to deal with babies. Then she remembers that this was the same woman that left all the responsibilities to the nannies.

Sam doesn't like the analyzing look they were giving her. It was like she was a type of specimen. She could remember getting the same look when she had to make a product run to a local whore house. The men just looking at her with dollar signs in their eyes. After that Sam started cutting her hair short and binding her chest. Like hell she would become part of some human trafficking ring. It looked like being a hellraiser was the best option in this situation. The man with the mustache is the first to break the silence that fell over the nursery.

"Well, darling? What should we plan for their future. I can see Samantha easily catching the eye of a royal with that light blonde hair of her's and those bright blue eyes. I'm sure we can fetch a high price for a marriage contract. Sabo would do well with another noble, it will extend our political reach if we choose wisely." Sam narrows her eyes and doesn't like what this conversation was implying. Does this man think that she is some object he can hawk to the highest bidder? Just what type of parent is this man? Who comes into a baby's room and starts talking about how much to sell their children off for?

"Yes, if we can set Samantha up with a royal we'll be the talk of Goa Kingdom! Perhaps, we could even try for a contract with a Celestial Dragon! The Outlook name would be known around the world!" The woman squeals in a pitch just short of ear shattering.

Sam's mind short circuits as it makes a ridiculous connection. The words Goa Kingdom, Celestial Dragon, and Outlook flash in her mind mockingly. It would be foolish to assume that somehow she found herself reborn into an anime, right? It would be silly that she, Samantha DiAngelo, would find herself in a fictional world with fictional characters. Yet, here she was with a brother named Sabo, located in the kingdom of Goa, with Outlook as her father, and her parents wanting to sell her to a Celestial Dragon.

Sam can feel her eye twitching as the man and woman continue to self-congratulate themselves on how smart they were to come up with such a future for their children. They keep using terms that would only make sense if she was, in fact, in an anime or manga. She wants them to shut their fat mouths so she can think. Or at least not to drown herself in the tears that want to fall at the thought that the little boy next to her might very well die if she's not careful.

This would take time to digest and to come to terms with. It was an unforeseen curve ball that had just been thrown at her. She needed plans, and some back up plans for those plans, and a follow up C, D, E, and F if those plans went wrong. Sam couldn't lose the kid that reminded her so much of Ignazio. It would be like failing him twice. Even though she understood the difference between the two boys, there was still the mixed motherly feelings from her time spent with Ignazio and the sisterly feelings she was starting to carry for Sabo.

The fact that she would have to be as good as Fire Fist Ace and Prospective King of the Pirates Monkey D. Luffy- Well that would sink in with time. She was a fighter in her last life, she could easily be a fighter in this life. Especially if it meant life or death for her little brother.

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A/N: Chapter 2: The Not so Proper Heiress


	3. Sam, the Not So Proper Heiress

Chapter 2: Sam, the Not So Proper Heiress

Sam stares skeptically at the blonde-haired woman and the mustache clad man before her. She's just turned four and is already a nuisance to the entirety of High Town. Sam really wants an award for her superb acting skills, but she knows the couple in front of her is anything but pleased. In fact, Sam would go as far as to say that they were at the end of their rope.

"Samantha, we have taken the liberty of drawing up a marriage contract for you to the royal son Stelly. We do this in hopes that it might curtail your hideous behavior and that you find yourself actually bringing honor and wealth to the Outlook name." Her so-called father announces this grandly as he sits behind the large oak desk in his office. Sam's not-really mother is standing next to him with a polished hand sat on top of his shoulder.

Sam tilts her head to the side and asks the one question that no noble or royal in Goa Kingdom wants to hear ever cross her lips.

"Why?" Sam had essentially found the kryptonite of the nobility in Goa. Just having them try to explain their beliefs and the reasoning behind them frustrated them. Heaven forbid she make one of them think. Of course, she has gotten the "That's just the way it is," line and countered it with "Yeah, but why is it that way? How did it start?" Everyone knew better than to start a conversation with Sam. She could frustrate even the most patient of men.

The spectacular red color that the couple turns is satisfying. She makes sure to keep an innocent mask of confusion on her face. Sam cackles in her head as her not-mother tries to explain, in a strained voice, their decision. Of course, Sam, being her spiteful self, ignores her completely. She knows what they want to do. They want to put a leash on her bullheaded behavior. But Sam wasn't someone who could be caged.

As soon as there was a pause in the flow of conversation Sam looks up and notices that the pair was looking at her expectantly. Making a show of looking like she was considering what they said she finally gives them an answer.

"I think I understand, but could you say that one more time? I wasn't listening." The vein in her so-called father's forehead pulses as his face turns from red to purple. Her not-mother's hand curls into his shoulder as she tries to put a cap on the rage she wants to let loose. The woman takes a deep breath and starts explaining, again, through gritted teeth.

Sam lets her attention be drawn to the little bird that was hopping around on the ground outside the window. The little guy was probably looking for some grub. As a matter of fact, she was feeling kind of hungry. Maybe she could bribe one of the cooks to slip her some cookies when this whole thing was finished. Sam only hears the last of what her not-mother is saying.

"So, Samantha is it understood that you will sign the marriage contract?" The woman was obviously trying to slip it past her notice. She probably realizes that Sam was still not paying attention. It wasn't that Sam wasn't aware of what was going on around her, it was more that she had selective hearing. Specifically, she tuned out the ridiculousness that seemed to spew forth from every royal and noble.

"No," Sam smiles and nods her head. She gets up off the chair and turns to walk away when a hand with long red nails grips at her shoulder. The pinch of pain makes her want to drop her childish mask and go get the gun she'd recently liberated from a pirate near Gray Terminal. But Sam knows she must bide her time until Sabo is ready to leave, she wouldn't push him to do anything he didn't want if she could help it. He was almost at his breaking point with the two adults that tried to call themselves their parents. Sam just wishes he would move a bit faster.

"What do you mean no?! What utter nonsense are you spouting now, you stupid girl?! You will sign that contract and you will learn to be a proper lady of a household. We are tired of your defiance. There will be consequences if this behavior doesn't stop, Samantha." Her so-called father was trying to be stern and it makes Sam see red. First, he insults her and then has the audacity to demand something from her. No one told Sam what to do, especially when it came to her freedom.

"Maa, I don't want to marry Steffy. He sounds so boring. I don't think I want to be a lady of a household either, to be honest. I think I'm going to become a pirate." Sam chirps back, completely ignoring the tone of the conversation. She also manages to mangle the boy's name while she's at it. Sam wants to show them just how unimportant this contract is to her. She wants to make them as angry as they are making her. The oppressive silence that encompassed the room gives her pause.

"You will do no such thing, Samantha. I will not let you sully the Outlook name with your foolish whims and desires. You are a member of the Outlook family; your disobedience is a mark of shame on our pristine title. You will sign this contract and get cleaned up to have breakfast." The man in the suit was demanding something of Sam and she grits her teeth in sheer aggravation. If there was one thing she hates more than anything, it is being ordered to do something she doesn't want to do. It makes her remember the Marino family head demanding she risk her life just to deliver his shitty drugs. The barrel of a cold metal gun being held to her head when she hesitated even for a second. Always wondering if this run would be her last.

Being told to do something she doesn't want to do causes her trigger finger to itch, which had been happening with disturbing frequency lately. Sam, in a fit of childish rage, lets her mask drop as the memories of her past continue to force their way to the front of her mind.

"I said, no. I will not agree to sign my life away to some snotty royal. I am a human being with rights and thoughts of her own. No one tells me what to do!" The look of horrified shock was only a little satisfying. Sam can really only feel a curl of dread pool in her gut. Her understanding of the situation around her was supposed to be kept secret. It was something that would have helped her find a way out from the two adults oppressive presence. But she, being the hot head that she was, had shown her cards when they riled her up too much.

She wants to blame her mood swings on being in a toddler's body. But mostly, it was Sam balking at the idea that these foolish nobles could tell her what to do. That she would be forced to comply because of her body's age. She was a young woman who had survived the mafia. She was a fighter, being treated like little girl who didn't have an original thought in her head made her want to paint the walls with blood.

The calculating gleam that enters her father's eyes tells her that she's in for an unpleasant surprise. Sam firms her glare and refuses to back down.

"I see, we will discuss this later Samantha. Run along and go get cleaned up for breakfast." The calm voice that the man uses makes her uneasy. How could she have forgotten that she was only four years old and has no protection to speak of with these people? She knew this was the same man that had enlisted pirates to get Sabo back in the anime. What would they do to her to make her comply?

Sam didn't find out what Outlook III had planned until it was too late to interfere.

Sam starts to sneak into the man's office each night after the fight to keep an eye on what he was planning. So far, he had been very clever with keeping things top secret, much to Sam's ire. She only finds out about his trip to Sabaody after he's left. She knew that he had been talking about a business trip the past couple days, but he never actually spoke about the location.

Now, learning that the man that was so furious with her for not ceding to his demands was visiting a place where they bought and sold slaves was like a punch in the gut. She didn't have any proof whether this trip pertained to her or not. But the sick feeling that she had was too persistent to ignore. She was facing the real possibility of being sold off to the scum of the earth.

The next three weeks goes by tortuously slow. But Sam hasn't been idle during that time. She starts packing bags and laying the groundwork for an abduction. If the Outlook couple want their children gone so badly, Sam could surely help them along in that endeavor. Digging around in her shitty father's paperwork brought to light a lot of backroom dealings. There were people who wanted the Outlook's to cease existing.

"Sammy! Come take a walk with me!" Her little brother grabs her hand and pulls her out of her thoughts. He smiles his ridiculously cute gap-toothed smile, and she has to hold back her need to coo. Rolling her eyes, Sam gets up off the floor of their shared bedroom where she had just been staring at the ceiling. They had decided to continue sharing a bedroom. Even after their so-called parents decide that it is unseemly. It was a battle that their not-parents lost because they didn't care enough to enforce the rule. She and her brother both like sharing a room because it was nice knowing that they had each other when life got too insufferable. Sabo was still dragging her through the manor at top speed.

"Maa, slow down a bit Sabo. The sidewalk won't go anywhere if we take our time." Sam calls out lazily as she continues to follow her little brother out of the manor and into the center of High Town. Sam always thought the streets were too clean and the people were too proper. The marble stone work practically screamed 'I have money! Do you see it?! Do you see that I have money?!' Well, Sam certainly does see it and it makes her want to rob the suckers blind.

Disgruntled murmurings follow her as she makes her way through town. Sam doesn't really mind all that much. She didn't like them either, the feelings were mutual. As they walked, Sam and Sabo start to chat about how schoolwork was coming along, what idiocy they had been faced with lately, and how they should make a trip into the city soon to get a break from annoying nobles. The more they walk and talk the more Sam relaxes, if only for a few moments.

She has been on her guard the last three weeks waiting for slavers to capture her, but Sabo calms her down when he was around. He could do it by simply grabbing her hand. It reminds her that there is still a person that would look for her if she ever went missing. Not that a five-year-old could do much in the face of an adult pirate or marine, but still she had someone that needs her.

On their way back to the manor they are approached by a bratty little royal. Sam knows as soon as the boy starts to sneer that her nice afternoon was about to turn into a nightmare. Brief images of Sabo with a bandage on his forehead, and his black eyes watering flash in her mind. But, she can't remember how he got hurt. She assumes the brat in front of her is the reason and it puts her on high alert.

"Hey, you! I am from the royal family, and that means you have to do everything I say! Carry me back to my house." He was speaking directly to Sabo. Sam watches with steady eyes as Sabo stiffens his back and continues walking. She follows his lead and continues to walk with him.

"Ugh! How dare you! I'm related to the king, and I want a piggyback ride right now!" The snot-nosed brat saw fit to grab Sabo by the face and shoulder to get him to stop walking. He was trying to force his way on to her brother's back.

"Stop! Get off of me!" Sabo grunts out as he elbows the kid in the stomach. Sam strides up to the struggling pair and pushes the little royal menace away from her brother. The boy ends up falling to the ground and landing on his bottom. His eyes start to water and he glares at them both.

"You nobles think you're so hot, don't you?" The royal brat on the ground is seething in unjustified anger. His face is stained red in embarrassment and he starts reaching into his pocket. Sam notices a gleam of polished metal before he starts to charge them.

"This ought to teach you," the boy yells while he's running straight toward the twins. Memories of years of being run at with knives bombards her as Sam pushes Sabo behind her.

"Sammy, no!" Sabo yells as she stands in front of him.

She automatically shoots her arms out and down. She catches the hand thrusting the knife in between her two crossed wrists. Sam lets the sides of her wrists close around his wrist. She then twists his arm backwards and puts his wrist into a joint lock to disarm him of the knife. The sound of metal clattering on the stone pavement is loud in empty street. It happens quickly; and Sam hears her heartbeat thudding in her ears. She can feel herself shaking as she lets the kid fall to the ground. He starts bawling before he even hits the pavement. She can't stop staring into space as her memories of her past life flood her. A small hand grabs her shoulder and turns her around to pull her into a hug.

"Are you okay?" Sabo grunts softly in her ear as he pulls her closer into the hug. Sam nods and clings tighter to her brother.

"Yeah," Sam mutters under her breath. They stay like that for a few minutes. Both of them pull away and look down at the boy that is still crying. He's holding his wrist and Sam is fairly certain that it's just sprained. She knows she didn't apply enough pressure to break the limb.

"What do you think we should do?" Her brother asks, worry coloring his voice. Sam eyes the boy on the ground for a bit longer. She couldn't care less about the horrid little boy. Her stomach growls and she is effectively distracted from the dilemma. She shrugs and grabs her brother by his hand and starts turning to walk away. She could probably steal some money off the nearest chump and buy them both an ice cream.

The sound of heels clomping on the pavement has her attention being drawn to the two women that were coming up on the scene from opposite directions of the street. The crying brat also looks up and screams, "Mommy!" He darts forward and hides behind his mother's skirts. The woman on the other side of the street, Sam notices, is their so-called mother. She eyes the scene and then the twins with what looks like dread. Sam is so fed up with this whole situation. All she wanted was to have a nice day out with her little brother.

"Mommy! They beat me up!" The brat whines to his mother, still sniffling. The rage in the woman's eyes is really a touch too dramatic for Sam's tastes. Their not-mother stiffens at the accusation. The royal woman seemed to be working herself up into a real lather at the thought of her precious little boy having been in a fight. Sam can remember stabbing hobos at six for stealing her lunch box in her last life. So what if Sam disarmed the crazy little psychopath? She could have done worse!

"My son has royal blood! I won't stand for you spilling it on the pavement you oafs!" The yelling is also bothersome, Sam stares off into space as she decides to just not listen. She'd much rather see this woman's blood on the pavement if she doesn't shut up in the next few minutes.

"Sabo, Samantha, tell me you didn't get in a fight with this boy from the royal family." Their not-mother is shrieking in her horribly off-pitch voice. Sam ignores her like she always does. Sabo, being the kind and considerate child he is, actually answers the rhetorical question.

"Well, I mean, kinda he attacked us with this scary knife." The slap the woman lands across his face gets her attention. Sam narrows her eyes and locks them on to the woman that is now approaching her. Glaring defiantly, she doesn't move from where she is still gripping her brother's hand. Sam lets the woman slap her as well if only to make Sabo feel less alone and upset.

"My son and daughter can be such little beasts. I blame myself. I do hope you weren't hurt. It's terrible, I know, please forgive us. I assure you they will be punished severely for this! I'll do anything to make things right. Shall we go to the doctor to make sure _your_ son isn't injured?" The noble woman flutters around the two royals with worry and concern. Anger builds in her chest as tears slowly fill Sabo's eyes. She wants to make this woman hurt as much as she's hurting her brother! But, Sam holds herself back until they are somewhere more private. Being dragged by the ear all the way home is just humiliating and unnecessary.

When Sam gets home, she realizes that Outlook is back from his trip to Sabaody. It's at this point she becomes certain that the universe is out to get her. How bad will her day actually get? Their not-mother immediately starts to detail the situation to her husband. It ends in Outlook pinching the bridge of his nose and demanding that she deal with it.

Sam waits until they entered the kitchen where her mother was no doubt going to get the wooden ruler she and her husband keep in there for their punishments. Usually, it was Sam getting her knuckles slapped and it was Outlook III that was doing the punishing. Her not-mother is still dragging Sabo by his ear. Her little brother keeps this lost and dead look in his eyes that make Sam want to shoot their so-called parents. Sam intervenes before the woman goes any closer to the drawer that held the ruler. She pulls her brother from the blonde woman's grip and places him firmly behind her. She then turns to face the hideous woman that tries to pose as a parent.

"What the hell is wrong with you? We were defending ourselves! You know, like any rational human being does when being held at knife point! I can't believe you're taking the side of that shitty royal brat over your own son and daughter! What kind of Mother are you?" Sam shouts, she can feel the blood rushing to her face. She's sure she doesn't make a pretty sight. She is just so sick of this whole situation.

"The kind of mother that wants only the best for their children!" Sam looks at her with a knowing look. A look that makes the woman grit her teeth in anger and wariness.

"The best, huh? When did you ever care for us, besides when you're plotting who to sell out your kids to? You don't care, you care about status and power. You are a monster." Sam spits back at her lackluster answer. Sam should have been expecting the backhand, but it still surprised her enough to have her face careening into one of the sharp sculpted corners that decorated the kitchen island. The impact makes her vision turn black. Sam drops to her knees and holds her hands to her mouth. Blood starts to pool and it gets everywhere. The slap of dripping blood on tile echoes through the tense silence that falls over the room. Sam's panting is just as loud.

"Go clean yourself up, I'll deal with you two tomorrow. Dinner will be delivered to your room tonight. I don't want to hear another word out of you two for the next twenty-four hours." The woman turns her nose up and leaves Sam kneeling with a bleeding lip and a bruised cheek. Sam keeps her head down and looks away from her brother. Her silver blonde fly away hair covers her eyes. She didn't want to see, what was no doubt, horrified shock on her brother's face.

Sam instead hears the door of a cupboard open and shut, as well as the freezer. Sam looks up and sees Sabo sitting on the floor and opening the first aid kit to get out the antiseptic and a cotton ball. He gently pulls her hands away from her face. Sam notices when she pulls her hand away that one of her baby teeth is cupped in her right hand. Sabo ignores this and slowly starts to dab at the wound on her lip that she's sure was going to scar. Sam stays silent as he continues to wipe up the blood. He then replaces the cotton ball with a new one.

"Hold that there, try not to move your mouth too much." His brows are furrowed as he looks at her cheek. Sam can already feel the stiffness in her cheek that tells her that the bruise is going to be horrible. Sabo takes the ice pack and holds it gently against her cheek. Sam looks into his eyes and she sees determination and anger there.

"What would you say if I wanted to run away?" Sam's eyes widened and a small smile tugs at her lips. Her sluggishly bleeding lip splits open again after moving her lips slightly. Wincing, Sam grabs another cotton ball and holds it up against the split. She looks back to her brother before letting him know just what she thinks about that idea.

"I would say that I already have two duffel bags packed with clothes and provisions. The only thing left to do is sneak into shitty father's office to see what he's been doing in Sabaody. A couple weeks ago he was trying to get me to sign a marriage contract. I told him where exactly he could stick that contract. He wasn't pleased, and he's been plotting something." Sam can hardly speak because each movement causes her lip to start oozing blood. Frustrated with the mess it's making, Sam changes the cotton ball.

"You think it has something to do with the Celestial Dragons?" Sabo interrupts Sam's fruitless effort to make her damn lip stop bleeding. Sam looks up and sees that her little brother is pale and there is so much anger in his eyes. Narrowing her eye slightly she flicks her twin in the nose.

"Maa, that's why I need to break into his office tonight. 'Sides his shitty office is going to get trashed after I'm done getting the information I need. We'll be 'outta here soon enough, don't worry about me Sabo. I'll be okay as long as you're okay." The split in her lip is still sluggishly oozing blood, but she's able to quirk up the side that isn't wounded. The frown on her brother's face isn't what she's going for, but he still pulls her into a side hug as they sit huddled up together.

A/N: A question popped up from the last chapter, and I thought I'd answer it here in case anyone else was wondering the same thing. In terms of the depth of Sam's knowledge on the One Piece, well it's spotty. But, she knows the major events that happen. I'd say at least until Dressrosa. Most of what she's read or watched is due to keeping her nephew entertained. Sam was never really good with judging age appropriate content.

Next Chapter: Donquixote Names His Price! The Great Escape!


	4. Donquixote Names His Price! The Escape!

Chapter 3: Donquixote Names His Price! The Great Escape!

Sam falls asleep with her head in Sabo's lap as soon as they get to their room. Her lip stopped bleeding, but she now has a massive migraine. Her brother stroking her hair pulls her into a sleepy state. The thing that breaks the peaceful silence is a knock at the door. Sam immediately shoots up and grabs Sabo's hand. Fears of her father and guards coming to take her way fill her head as they wait to see what comes of the knocking. Her brother squeezes her hand back and gives her a concerned look. Sam just keeps her gaze locked on the door.

"Sabo? Sam? Your dinner's out here. Sam's is on top and Sabo's is on the bottom. I have to get back to the kitchen, so leave your dirty dishes on the cart and I'll come get them as soon as I'm done." It sounds like the temporary chef that would sometimes sub for the head chef. The temp chef was the one that would sneak Sabo and Sam cookies. Sam relaxes a bit as soon as she hears footfalls moving away from the door.

Sabo jumps down from the bed and brings the cart into the room. Sam notices the plate on top is a steamed vegetable mix with some type of sauce on top. Scrunching her nose up a little, careful of her lip, Sam knows that her not mother is behind the food choice. Everyone knew Sam hated steamed vegetables, she hopes whatever the sauce that's on top of it will cover up the disgusting taste of vegetables. Grabbing her plate, Sam sits down on the side of the bed to start eating.

As soon as she takes her first bite Sam's taste buds are attacked by a horrid rancid taste. Hacking and spitting does nothing to take away the disgusting flavor that lingers. Sam wonders if she has been poisoned. Sabo seems to be wondering the same thing as he kneels on the floor in front of her, and he takes a hold of Sam's shoulders tightly. The taste slowly fades and Sam catches her breath. She lays a limp hand against Sabo's arm for support.

When Sam looks up to thank him she's greeted with the sight of two Sabo's. Sam narrows her eyes, she opens her mouth to speak, then closes it before she decides to just ask.

"Sabo? I think I might have hit my head harder than I thought. I'm seeing two of you…" The Sabo in front of her turns and sees the clone next to him. The clone next to him stares right back with a look of confusion. They both shout in surprise and jump away from each other. The movement has Sam letting go of her brother's arm as he stumbles away from his body double. The clone that the twins were staring at promptly vanishes before anyone can say anything.

"Uh, Sammy? What just happened?" Sabo whispers as they both look at the place where the clone disappeared.

"I have no clue," Sam blinks and she's pretty sure that she's dreaming, because when did Sabo pick up the ability to clone himself. Shaking her head, she puts her hand on the bedside table to help her up off the bed. There's a pop sound and a soft thud. Sam's eyebrows furrow as she turns and sees an exact copy of the bedside table where her left hand is hovering to keep her balance.

"Uhh, Sam. This isn't normal, is it?" Sam glances up and gives her brother a dry look.

"What was your first clue, genius?" She snark back as she removes her hand from the bedside table. The copy of the table disappears as soon as her hand leaves the piece of furniture. Sam can remember the rancid taste of the meal she just tried to eat. Now, suddenly, she's making copies of things. It screamed devil fruit power. The questions that needed to be answered were who, what, and why. Who would go through the trouble of sneaking her a devil fruit. It's highly likely that it's part of a plot that her shitty father is planning. She knows the common drawbacks of being a devil fruit user, which meant that she had to stay away from sea stone and the ocean. But she didn't know what fruit she ingested or if the fruit was one she knew of already. So far, from what she can tell, it's a paramecium. But, did it only give her the ability to make an exact copy of something while she is in direct contact with it.

"Sammy, are you okay? You're being kind of quiet and not really moving." Sabo asks as he hovers worriedly around her. Sam's just trying to take in the facts that someone slipped her a devil fruit, she now has weird powers, and this could all be part of a plot to sell her into slavery. But to what purpose is it needed that she eats the devil fruit. She needs to get her hands on a Devil Fruit Encyclopedia, Sam knows there was one somewhere in her shitty father's office. She could put this new oddity off until she got there. Somehow, she just knows this has Outlook III written all over it.

"Yeah, Sabo. I just need to get into shitty father's office before I can really explain anything." Sabo studied her intently before nodding his head in agreement. Sam spends the rest of the night messing around with her new power. Sabo watches on in fascinated wonder as he can now converse with a copy of himself. This kind of brakes Sam's brain, so she puts it out of her mind for the time being. She seems to be able to make a perfect copy of anything that she can physically touch. If she really focuses she can make more than one copy. So far, it seems to need her to be touching the object she's multiplying. Time passes quickly as she postulates theories about this new power. So quickly, that it seems to be 3:00 A.M. before she knows it.

Sam nudges her brother awake, and shoves a duffle bag his way. She then pulls the pillow case filled with her vandalism supplies out from her closet. Tugging Sabo by the hand she leads him to the office. On the way, she's mindful that should she let her mind wander too far she might clone something. They make their way quietly down empty marble hallways and a fancy staircase. When they get to the office Sam easily picks the lock on the door and enters. Sabo is close behind her.

"Sabo, check the bookcase for the Encyclopedia of Devil Fruit. We're going to need that to figure out what's going on with me." Sabo nods and starts scanning the titles on the bookshelves. Sam's already raiding the file case with the most recent records.

Sam's heart skips a beat as soon as she comes across the name Donquixote Doflamingo. Her stomach feels like it's made a 100-foot drop, and her mouth feels drier than a desert. With a shaking hand Sam grabs the most recent file. Opening the folder, a sheet of expensive parchment slips out and she drops to the ground as she reads it.

SABAODY PUBLIC EMPLOYMENT SECURITY OFFICE

Donquixote Doflamingo hereby offers the price of 50,500,000 Beri for the procurement of the noble and Devil Fruit user Outlook L. Samantha. It is to Donquixote's understanding that Outlook L. Samantha is the holder of the More-More fruit power for this agreement to be valid. This contract is to be executed as of May 19. Failure to comply with the set rules and agreements will result in reparations left up to Donquixote Doflamingo's discretion.

Signature: Outlook III George

Signature: Donquixote Doflamingo

Witnessed by: Trebol

APPROVED

A bead of sweat rolls down Sam's back and she withholds the urge to vomit. She is essentially being sold off to one of the most powerful people in the New World. It feels as if the earth stops moving as the realization that her parents sold her into slavery to one of the shadiest people in the series sinks in. Basically, this world's equivalent of the mafia. Sam isn't sure whether to laugh at the irony or cry that her life was over before it really began.

Sam didn't notice her brother behind her until it's too late. The contract is ripped from her hands and held in a white-knuckle grip. Sam isn't sure if he's trembling in rage or grief. Tears start to spill down his face and he grits his teeth. It takes several minutes for him to calm down. Sam's not sure what to do so she sits and watches. Sabo eventually wipes his face with the side of his sleeve and crumples up the form. He looks at Sam and she can see his determination and rage.

"You said we were going to trash this office, right? Where do we start?" Sam slowly gets to her feet and squares her jaw.

"Yeah, but I was thinking something with a bit more flare might be in order." She tells him evasively as she grabs her duffle bag and pillow case. She notices her father's lighter on the edge of his desk and grabs that too. Sam walks out of the office with Sabo following closely behind her. They both walk in silence to the outside of the manor, they then park themselves in front of the window of their shitty father's office. Sam drops her duffle bag on the ground and opens her pillow case to take out the gun she lifted of a pirate in Grey Terminal and a can of spray paint.

"Stand back, I don't want any glass getting in your eyes. Also, cover your ears" Sam tells him as she loads the gun. She then proceeds to fire 3 shots into the glass window of her shitty father's office. The window shatters completely. Sam then pulls out the lighter she stole from the office and then the spray paint. The flamethrower she makes is magnificent as she sets his shitty house ablaze.

Sam wants to cackle at the sight but she's limited on time. She starts packing everything back into the pillowcase. Once all evidence is put away and slung over her shoulder she glances back to see Sabo looking at her with a slightly incredulous expression. Asking her 'did you really set fire to the house?' Sam raises her eyebrow and asks right back 'did you think I would do anything less than something fabulously destructive?' Sabo pinches the bridge of his nose and shakes his head. Sam sniffs and looks away.

"You just don't appreciate fine art, you ingrate." Sam announces as she starts running. She can hear the hurried footsteps following her. The shouts from guards running toward the fire echo across the lawns of the manor. The screams are just as loud and Sam ignores them. The words procurement and 50,500,000 Beri flash in her mind as she starts running that much harder.

"No, I think you're a little fire bug is all." Sabo grunts as he lugs his duffle bag on his back and continues to run with her. A small hand closes around hers and Sam can't help but clutch it tightly as they start entering the city. They were going to Grey Terminal for the time being until she's sure that they can take on the wildlife of the forest. Sam's almost positive she could shoot anything that attacked them dead and use it for food; but she wants Sabo to be able to hold his own with a weapon before they take on any giant beasts.

"Maa, red is a pretty color. Nothing wrong with showing appreciation for a nice color," Sam shrugs as the two continue to run. The rate she's going is slower than she would like, but that would fix itself as soon as she was more active. By the time they reach Gray Terminal the height of the sun in the sky suggests that it's around 11:00 A.M., but Sam's not sure because of the constant smog that fills the area.

Sabo and Sam wander around until they come across somewhere secluded. Their clothing and duffle bags were being eyed hard by every passing homeless person. Sam makes sure to keep her gun visible and loaded. She knows it's not going to be much of a deterrent for long though, and they'll probably be robbed blind if they're not careful. But for now, they find a small alcove next to a stack of old spare tires and a trashed playhouse.

Sam sits down on the muddy ground and leans back against a greasy old tire. It completely ruins the lavender dress that she had been wearing since yesterday evening. Sam continues to mess up her clothes and shoes. They should at least embrace the part of the homeless run away, lest they get too much attention. Sabo seems to get where she's going and rips and frays the hems of his shirt and pants. Sam made sure to pack extra clothes that they would have to make alterations to as well.

"Let's unpack these bags and hide the stuff in various places. That way, if people do try to rob us, they won't get everything." Sam whispers to Sabo and he nods his head in agreement. Once they've hidden away what they can; Sam drags over a broken cardboard box and lays it out flat so they don't have to sit straight in mud. She then pulls out the Devil Fruit Encyclopedia to start researching the power she's gained. She finds only a small excerpt on it and it frustrates the hell out of her.

 _More-More Fruit_

 _Class: Paramecia_

 _Effect: The eater can make copies of or multiply almost anything._

 _Species: The Multiplier Human_

 _The More-More Fruit is one of the lesser known Devil Fruits. From the information that has been gathered together, it has been concluded that the More-More Fruit gives the user the ability to copy or multiply almost anything. Food that is copied will have no nutritional value. Water cannot be multiplied. The copy or multiplication has a limited lifespan that correlates with the distance of the Devil Fruit user._

Sam stares at the entry and plans start to form. Despite having such little information, she would make it her mission to explore this new ability to its fullest extent. The power could turn out to be invaluable if what she's thinking is possible.

"So, what do you think, Sammy?" Sabo asks as he reads over her shoulder. Sam closes the book and rests her hands on it as she thinks.

"Maa, it'll be useful for sure. I'm just confused why the Sabaody contract made it seem like I already had eaten the fruit. I'm also wondering just what shitty father got up to that he lied to a notoriously violent pirate. Sam smiles, still being gentle with her lip. Sabo narrows his eyes at the mention of Outlook, but looks to be considering the question.

"Well, you know how spiteful he can be if someone pushes him too far. Maybe this Doflamingo guy wanted the fruit and father didn't want to give to him?" Sam pauses as she thinks about it and barks out a chuckle.

"You know what, that makes a lot of sense." Outlook knew what a pain in the ass Sam could be and probably wanted to fob her off on an equally annoying pirate. Somehow, Sam find this too amusing. She rolls onto her stomach and smooshes Sabo's cheeks together as she coos at her brother.

"Awe, my twin is so smart! I'm so proud of my little brother!" Sabo slaps at her hands and rolls her over and starts tickling her. Sam eventually as to cede to him, he's still stronger than her. The both roll back onto their backs. Her lip is aching from moving it too much, but she's just happy to see her brother laughing.

"So, I was thinking that we should become pirates." Her brother announces this with no foreshadowing and it shocks Sam for a second before she scoffs. She turns her head to look at him with a knowing look. She flicks his nose before rolling her eyes. Sam turns her head back to the sky before she starts talking.

"Of course, we're going to become pirates, silly brother. You've only wanted to be one since you learned about them. Why do you think shitty father decided Sabaody was the best place for me? I told him that I wanted to be a pirate instead of a lady of a house! Granted, I just wanted to rile him up a bit at the time. But, as I thought about it more I realized how true it was, I realized how much I wanted to be a pirate. I want to be free to do what I want, when I want. I'm so tired of being chained to this corrupt kingdom." Sam whispers the last part. It always seemed that all her past life's memories were firmly tied to this place, and if she could just escape they might dull just that little bit more.

"Hey, Sammy?" Turning her head, she sees her brother looking at her. Raising her eyebrow, she motions for him to continue. Sabo takes a deep breath and looks away from her eyes.

"You know how you said that 'as long as you're okay, I'm okay?' I just want you to know the same goes for me. You're my twin and I don't know what I would do without you. You always seem to have the answers for the tough questions, you're always making sure that I'm alright even when you're in danger. We should have left weeks ago if this was what you suspected. I feel guilty for not talking about it sooner. You must have been really scared and I was too busy caught up in my own world to notice." His voice is strained by the end of comment. Sam sighs, she's still not that good at this whole feeling stuff. She likes to think that she's getting better the more time she spends around her brother. Though trying to figure out the right thing to say is always the most difficult part.

"You're being silly, Sabo. I was keeping it a secret until I was sure, I didn't want to alarm you. Besides, I'm glad I stayed long enough to read the contract. At least now I know someone is out to get me. I'm not sure if it's possible, but I might be able to come up with a disguise for me using this new power thingy." Sam derails the talk of heavy stuff with something a bit lighter in hopes that it will distract Sabo, if only for a while. The kid had been through a lot in the last 24 hours. First, he gets attacked by a royal brat, then is blamed for the attack, finds out his parents are trying to sell his sister into slavery, and they now live in a place where one of them will probably have to stay awake while the other sleeps.

"Yeah? What are you thinking about?" Sam blinks as she briefly forgets what they had been talking about, it's a second later that she remembers.

"Well, I was thinking that if I can multiply things, that means I could potentially alter my hormone levels. I remember reading in the paper about that revolutionary Emporio Ivankov who has the Horm-Horm fruit and can change his appearance. I could probably do the same, I'm not sure if I can figure out that type of precise control though. I think that I might have to start off with meditation." Sabo gives Sam an amused snort in response to her answer. She furrows her eyebrows and gives him a questioning look. Sabo rolls his eyes and pokes Sam in her side. This causes her to give a squeak of surprise.

"Yeah, right. Sam, when have you ever been able to just shut off your mind for even a few seconds? You barely sleep as it is. You would be terrible at meditation!" Sabo gives a short bark of a laugh as Sam glares at him for questioning her methods. She shoves that stupid top hat he wears over his eyes so it gets stuck around his head. The muffled yelling as he tries to remove the obstruction is like music to Sam's ears and she laughs.

* * *

Next Chapter: That's My Lion Meat, Freckle Boy!


	5. Hands Off My Lion Meat

Chapter 4: Hands Off My Meat, Freckle Boy!

The first time that Sam meets Portgas D. Ace is while he's beating the shit out of a couple of drunks who were bad mouthing Gol D. Roger. Sam watches on in a passive sort of interest and perhaps a little respect that a 5-year-old can take on 3 adult drunks with only a pipe. Eventually, he stops long enough to look at Sam in a challenging way. Raising her eyebrow, she continues to lean against the brick wall that lines the alleyway. Perhaps it's because she feels the rush of accomplishment of finally figuring out a part of this whole devil fruit thing. That she can now walk around Edge Town and Gray Terminal without being covered in a hooded cloak. She knew just how much more suspicious it is when a kid is walking around in an ill-fitted trench coat. She's had to depend on Sabo to do most of the toiletry runs and she still not that confident in his ability to steal from stores. The last thing they needed was her brother getting captured by marines.

But now, Sam finally understands. While she can't meditate for shit, having multiple clones of herself walking around slows her thoughts long enough to mess with her body chemistry. She was currently walking around as a paler version of Sabo. She still has trouble multiplying her hormones enough to change specific characteristics such as pigment or anything else. But, Sam can manipulate her levels to where her testosterone is more dominant than her estrogen. It gives her the appearance of a little boy when she cuts her hair to just above her shoulders and ties her hair back into a tiny ponytail. She uses slightly bent silver frames she found in one of the trash heaps in Gray Terminal as an added measure of protection.

Anyone looking for Outlook L. Samantha would be looking for a slim and delicate girl with hair down to her back. Not the short little boy that had the bare beginnings of sinewy muscles. She's not sure if it comes across as threatening, her just standing here watching him pant in ill restrained anger, but as Ace starts to approach her she looks back in interest. She continues to measure his path as he walks over the knocked-out drunks.

"Maa, got some problems freckles?" The fury that flashes in his eyes is understandable, those men were vile. Saying that a kid should never have been born and should be killed was unacceptable.

"You 'wanna know what I would say if Gol D. Roger had a kid?" Sam offers on a whim. She's not sure if this will end in her getting her ass kicked or not but she figures that it's worth a try. Ace stops short and the fire in his eyes burn even brighter. His jaw is clenched tight and Sam can practically hear his teeth grinding.

"I'd probably say they shouldn't listen to drunk old men who follow what the government says, and should do some research before listening to men who can't even defend themselves against a 5-year-old. Everyone has enemies, and everyone has friends. It's a matter of perspective, really. One thing I do know is, no one should ever put the sins of the parents on their children. Kids are like blank slates, you know? They're born into this world knowing nothing of how it works. It's the job of the parents to teach them morals and to make sure they become functional members of society. If the parent who bear so many sins doesn't even raise the kid what kind of logical connection can you make where its mandatory that the kid turn out the same?" Sam shrugs and pushes off the brick wall. She shoves her hands into her pockets and starts walking in between the trash heaps of Gray Terminal. She stops short when she hears a scream of pain and rage. Sam can relate all too well to that, especially when she remembers the pain and rage she felt at having her entire life taken away from her.

"You can't just say shit like that and walk away!" He yells as tears roll down his face. He runs straight for her and slams her against the brick wall with the pipe choking her as he presses it up against her throat. Glaring at the boy she stays still to see what he has to say.

"Who are you? What would you know anything about bearing the sins of your parents!" Sam eyes narrow as she thinks about being the child of a cocaine addict. Being written off immediately as a lost cause, because if the mother was a user it was only a matter of time before she turned out the same way. Bearing the sins of the Outlooks would come as soon as anyone learned that she was a noble. It didn't matter that she wanted no part in that type of life. She would still be colored by the same brush by the average person. Sam knows Sabo fears the same thing and he's constantly struggling with feeling ashamed of who gave birth to him. They had parents that saw nothing wrong with selling their daughter into slavery.

"More than you could ever know, now get off of me. I've got places to be and people to see." Sam grunts as she pushes the boy off of her. Storming off she starts muttering about hot-headed impertinent brats. Sam is so caught up in her thoughts about having to deal with ill-tempered children she doesn't notice until she's slammed up against another wall. An older man with a missing front tooth starts snarling at her.

"You swindled me, ya good for nothing rat! I want the money you owe me for that gun you got. In fact, I think you should pay interest!" The man punches her in the face three times before shaking her demanding his money. He grips her throat tighter and gets ready to start punching her again and she's furious. Sam glares and lifts a hand to press her index finger up against her scarred lip. The look of confusion that crosses the man's face is all the time she needs to sort this out. The click of a gun and the feeling of hard steel pressing into the crease of his lower spine has the man freezing

"Maa, you seem to be within my range of multiplication. A very foolish and dangerous thing to do. Remove your person from me or I'll shoot." The copy that Sam created demands and pushes the gun further into his back, challenging him to give her a reason. The man releases her and as soon as she's out from underneath the disgusting man she shoots him anyway. She doubts anyone in Gray Terminal will miss him. She should probably feel remorse, but this has always been Sam's life. It's like slipping on an old pair of shoes. Walking up to her clone she notices that it looks at her with a strange look. Like it's withholding the urge to strangle her.

"Maa, I don't have time to fight you at the minute. I need to get back to Sabo with the medical supplies. He cut himself up pretty good trying to take down that lion." The clone pouts and starts grumbling about not telling it what to do. That she'll shoot Sam as soon as she summons her.

Sam rolls her eyes at her disobedient clone that would rather kill her than listen to any orders. But that's always been Sam's personality. She would want to kill anyone that thought they could control her. Evidently, she included herself in the people who couldn't tell her what to do. Sam would probably be the first to tell you that she has some unresolved issues.

The gasp she hears as the clone dispelled itself has her turning around to see that Ace had followed her. He's gaping wide eyed and looks to be going into shock. Sam rolls her eyes upward praying for patience. She walks over to the frozen boy and lightly knocks him on the head to get his attention. When that does nothing, she starts pushing him toward her and Sabo's hideout in the woods. They tried living in Gray Terminal but they both decided that they would rather risk the animals in the woods than human traffickers, or pedophiles.

Ace seems to snap to attention as soon as they come up to the forest line. "Wait! Where are you taking me! I don't want to die!" Sam gives him a disturbed look. She was disturbed that Fire Fist Ace was telling her he didn't want to die instead of kicking her ass for presuming to move him anywhere. Also, that he thought that she was taking him somewhere to kill him. She decided to put off analyzing that outburst until later.

"Are you serious right now? If I wanted to shoot your ass, I would have back in the alley. Come on, I 'gotta get back to my brother. He got pretty scratched up trying to take down a lion. Little idiot never listens to me. Tell him go for the deer that are grazing next to the lion and the fool goes for the thing that can tear him to shreds." Shaking her head, she continues pushing Ace forward. As soon as they get to the campsite that they had made next to a stream, she notices that Sabo is already cooking the meat. Sam sighs and let's go of the multiplication of her testosterone and pulls off the wire frames on her face.

While multiplying her hormones worked, it's still uncomfortable having that much testosterone circulating in her body. It just made her more irritable and willing to shoot something that got in her way. Sam feels better when she isn't tweaking her body's chemistry. She grabs her favorite dark overall shorts and a black three-quarter shirt from the clothesline, and then goes into the tent like structure, that she and Sabo built, to get changed out of the clothes she usually walks around Gray Terminal in; some ratty button-down shirt and dirtied slacks that she stole from Sabo.

Sam puts a black bandanna around her head to keep her long bangs out of her face and heads back out to face the no doubt bewildered Ace. She's greeted to the sight of Sabo poking Ace in the cheek to see if he was still breathing. Sam ignores that for now and goes over to the overlong coat she used today to pull out the baggy of medical supplies she stole from the hospital in Edge Town. She walks back over to Sabo and pulls him down to sit on the log next to the fire pit they built.

"You're bleeding again, you idiot. How many times did I tell you not to go for the lion. Honestly, Sabo. You're lucky you didn't lose the arm." Sam chides as she carefully unwraps the bandage on his upper arm. She carefully checks the wound to make sure there's no pus or infection. She knows she could probably multiply his white blood cell count but that would mean having to summon a homicidal clone that was biting at the chance to fight. She doesn't see anything abnormal with the wound and checks Sabo's temperature to make sure he's not running a fever.

"You know it's a man's romance to take down a lion, Sammy. Now I get to tell the story of how I took down a lion with a pipe and my bare hands." Sam glares at him and pinches his cheek, hard.

"No, you get to tell them how your sister had to rescue your ass and shoot the lion before he could make you a main course. What am I going to do with you, Sabo?" She shakes her head fondly as she starts rewrapping his wound.

"Why did you start cooking anyway when you know you're injured? I would have made something when I got back." Sabo turns a bit green at the thought and Sam debates whether the brat is healthy enough to receive a good knock to the head for his rudeness. Sam's violent thoughts are interrupted when Ace finally explodes.

"Who are you people? Why can you clone yourself? Are you a guy or a girl? Why am I here?" Ace rants until he is red in the face and Sam quirks her lips up at the adorable sight he makes when he's pouting.

"Maa, my name is Sam and this is my twin brother Sabo. I can clone myself because of a devil fruit power, I am a female who can alter her body chemistry to make herself seem more male like. You're here because I wasn't about to leave you alone in Gray Terminal when you looked like someone slapped you silly with a fish. You have to be on alert when traveling around that area. 'Sides I felt kind of guilty killing that crook in front of you." Sabo gives her those sad puppy eyes when he hears she killed someone. Sam rolls her eyes and elaborates for his sake, and for him to stop giving her that damn pout that makes her want to bend to his whims.

"I swindled him out of a really nice gun that I wanted, he got mad and punched me in the face. I got pissed and shot him. 'Sides I had to use my devil fruit power to get out of his hold. No one can know that I have this power or it's hello Mr. Donquixote for me." Sabo's eyes harden at the name and he clenches his fist tight. Of course, it had to be the arm that he injured that he decides to move. Sam wraps her hand around her brothers to get him to stop moving his arm.

"Stop that, don't hurt yourself any more than you're already hurt. It's going to take some good couple weeks for that to heal." Sam murmurs as she tries to calm her brother. He's still pissed about the whole ordeal with their parents. Sam forces herself to put it out of her mind for her brother's sake. But she can see the anger there still simmering after five months.

"Who's Donquixote?" Ace asks as he comes over and sits down. Sam thinks that he sure made himself at home. Rolling her eyes, she looks away and starts putting the medical supplies back into the baggy. She'd have to put it in the med kit later. Grabbing a plate and few shanks of meat she listens as Sabo tries to explain without giving away the fact that they are both runaway nobles.

"Donquixote Doflamingo is a very powerful and dangerous pirate in the New World. Our parents...Our parents aren't very nice people. When Sam wouldn't agree to do what they said they made a deal with Doflamingo that in exchange for money they would give him Sam and her devil fruit ability. We had to run away to keep Sam from being taken by the pirate." Sabo's face is a rictus of fury and anger just at having to explain the situation. To lighten the situation Sam had to put her two cents into the conversation.

"Yeah, instead I set fire to their shitty house. Let that be a lesson to you, don't mess with me freckle boy. What's your name anyway? I don't think I really asked." Sam says as she takes another bite of her meat. Ace eyes the meat hungrily and she narrows her eyes at the boy. Knowing him he'd eat the entire tiger.

"Portgas D. Ace," he announces as he edges closer to the plate of meat. He continues to try and make conversation with Sabo. As soon as a hand shoots out to steal a piece off her plate Sam pinches the skin on the back of his hand. The yelp of pain he gives is a satisfying payment for his bold actions.

"Hands off my lion meat, freckle boy! If you wanted some you could have asked. I would have given you some. You're not a barbarian, ask next time." She lets go of his hand and flicks him in the forehead. She proceeds to divide the remaining lion meat between Sabo and Ace. The rest of the night is carnage as the two boys dig into the meal and start chatting like old friends about an assortment of stuff. Sam adds to the conversation here and there, but her mind is elsewhere.

Sam had been expecting to find a very broken little boy when she would first meet Ace. But the kid in front of her isn't at that point yet, his barriers haven't all formed to make him the mean and insolent child that would hate Luffy just because of his mere presence. This was a kid that hadn't yet started believing to never run from a fight. She has no doubt that he will become that child soon enough, but Sam is glad that she got to him before that hard shell of hurt and anger could form.

The laughter that breaks out between them makes Sam smile. She's glad Sabo's found a friend and a brother in Ace. For the time being, Sam is content to watch the two as they banter back and forth. She knows this feeling won't last. It felt like it was the beginning of something terrible, but also something that was great. Sam would have to decide when it happened, for she knew it would happen.

* * *

Next Chapter: How Do You Not Notice a Spoon Stuck to Your Face?


	6. The Man with A Spoon

Chapter 6: The Man with A Spoon

Sam sits out on the patch of grass that's next to the place where Sabo and Ace are sparring. She must admit, even now, she can see the beginnings of strong fighters. They're around the same level but Ace is just that little bit better and it ends in Sabo getting nailed in the head with the pipe. Sam winces and knows she's going to have to make another trip into Edge Town for medical supplies. She should just bring a bag and try to fill it to the brim.

Her range of multiplication has gotten larger than the original 10 feet to a now 30 feet in the 2 years that she's had the devil fruit power. Her control is now better and she can change her features by multiplying muscle growth or changing the pigmentation of her skin and hair. It's very helpful when trying to swindle unsuspecting people. Her range of multiplication expanding also means that she can fool more people with fake money. It's hard when the money disappears as soon as she's out of range, though. She's pretty sure a lynch party is set for her in Gray Terminal and Edge Town, as soon as they figure out what she looks like.

"Ace's win, Sabo. That makes 52 wins for Ace and 48 wins for Sabo. Excellent job, boys. Now that we've reaffirmed your masculinity can we get back to what we were discussing?" Sam sighs as she lays back and watches the midafternoon clouds roll across the sky. They had been in the middle of a discussion about how well the pirate fund was coming. They had 13,000 Beri, which was nothing to sniff at for three six-year-olds. She knew if everything happened in the future, like it did in the anime, all this hard work would be useless. That wasn't something that Sam could stand to let happen. Somehow, the little brat, Ace, managed to worm his way into her sphere of protection. He had grown on her, like a fungus.

She can remember nights spent hunting for food because they were just so damn hungry. Days in the sun going at one another trying to squeak out that last bit of energy to push themselves that much farther. She can remember tending to both their wounds and the infection that she almost missed when treating a knife wound Ace had gotten trying to protect her back. She'd stolen from the wrong person and was almost killed if it wasn't for Ace. He had become as precious as Sabo had because no one had ever taken a knife for her.

She was always on her own, dealing with drug addicts, pimps, whores, and the lowest of the low. No one had seen that she should be helped. Her older brother in her last life had been too busy surviving to really take care of her. Even with Giuseppa, Sam was the one providing protection to her. He had offered something new and foreign to her. With Sabo, it was always going to be Sam protecting her younger twin. That's the way the dynamic had always been between them. Sam was the one with the plans, who could get them out of sticky situations.

Ace changed it where it wasn't always her leading. Sam was never meant to be a leader nor a follower. She was self-contained and was happiest when she did what she wanted to do in her own time. After being forced to cede to asshole after asshole she was tired, and didn't want people looking to her to do all the hard work. It stuck with her that this prickly little boy had managed to show her that people could help her. That she didn't have to bear the responsibility of everything by herself. Ace and Sabo were the only ones she trusted at her back.

"Let me enjoy my wins, scar lip!" The insolent little brat shouts at her. Removing herself from her memories, Sam pulls out the BB Gun Pistol that Sabo had gotten her for their birthday. He got it in hopes that she would stop causing grievous injuries to anyone that pissed her off, the main target being Ace. Sam and Ace butted heads about everything. Despite being close, they both were strong willed people who had their own ideas of how things should work.

"Pay attention, you fluff brain idiot!" Ace shouts at her for losing focus. Her attention is once again held when he runs at her with his stupid pipe; Sam narrows her eyes at the challenge. She raises her index and middle finger to her lips and calls for two clones to appear. Both glare at her before paying attention to the current threat. The clones aim for the boy with copied BB Guns and fire. Ace slaps away six of the pellets with the pipe and grits his teeth as the other three hit his bare arms.

"That's cheating, Sam! No devil fruit powers or guns when we're doing physical training. What happens if you're ever not able to use them? Then you're going to be screwed, and I'm going to say I told you so!" Ace grunts as he shakes the wounds off and continues after Sam. She knows she's going to get her ass handed to her by an eight-year-old if she can't even multiply her muscle mass. Sam dispels her clones after one of them starts snarking that 'she can't believe that she was created for such an asinine purpose.' The other was commenting on how 'the originator should grow a pair and take it like a man.'

She dodges the first swing that comes at her from Ace and his pipe. The rest of the match is a game of cat and mouse. Sam isn't a close quarters combat sort of girl. She likes eliminating people from the shadows or trickery. Ace is like a blunt battle ax, and has no appreciation of the art of evasion. Sam eventually gets a pipe to the gut and is thrown back into a tree. She groans as she watches the sky spin in circles.

She sees both Ace and Sabo enter her field of vision and she scowls at them both for forcing her to use her feminine form when physically fighting. It was literally impossible to go toe to toe with these beasts without some advantage.

"The only time where I would be unable to use my powers during a fight is if I'm in water, or am being touched by sea prism stone. In both of those situations it is literally impossible for me to fight as it is. So, your argument of never being able to use my powers is invalid, you brutes! I am a sniper or a doctor, not a heavy hitter like you monsters. Now, help me up and to the med kit. I need to treat your wounds." Sam snaps at the both of them. Two hands are shoved in front of her and she grabs them. She can still feel the ache of having all the wind knocked out of her. She grumbles to herself about stupid brothers and not knowing their own monstrous strength as she goes about getting the bandages and antiseptic she needs for treating their wounds.

"Stop mumbling to yourself, Sam. It makes you seem crazier than you already are. I'm still surprised that one of your clones hasn't murdered you in your sleep yet." Ace snarks as she cleans his wounds. Sam glowers and pushes the antiseptic into his wound harder. Ace hisses in response to the stinging pain. Little jerk never knew when to keep his trap shut.

"Keep talking, Freckle face. You shouldn't sass a medic, idiot. Next time you do, I won't be in a hurry to tend to your wounds. Besides, at least wait until I'm done treating you before you let your shining personality get in the way." Sam snipes as she narrows her eyes and looks away from the scowling kid.

"Guys, that's enough. You both have had your shots at each other, let's let it go. Besides, Sam will always help when you ask, Ace. Just like you would never leave Sam hanging if she ever needed something from you. We're all going to be here when one of us needs something. Just accept the fact that you guys are basically siblings." Sam scrunched her nose up at Sabo's words and she can see Ace doing the same. Even if he was her sibling, admitting it out loud would embarrass the both of them. It was a unspoken rule that Ace and Sam needed to be at each other's throats or something wasn't right in the world. They both knew they'd have each other's back no matter what, they were just too hard headed to ever admit it.

"Never," both Sam and Ace say in unison in response to Sabo's previous claim of admitting being like siblings. They start glaring at each other once more for daring to say the same thing as the other. Sam hears her twin sigh and looks over to see him pinching the bridge of his nose. She pushes away the semi-guilty feeling that curls in her stomach and finishes treating Ace's wound. She moves on to take care of the cut on Sabo's head. Sam makes sure there are no signs or symptoms of a concussion while she's at it.

She always worried when one of them got a head injury. Sam wasn't exactly sure what to do if she needed to take them somewhere, she supposes Dadan would be the best bet. But she didn't want to talk to the woman that thought it alright to leave Ace wandering these woods alone.

"Anyway," Sam interrupts the awkward silence that falls over the three of them to make her plans known to both of her brothers. Sam can already see Sabo gloating about being right. How 'she and Ace were just to sour to admit that they were like siblings'. Hell, she still didn't admit that Sabo was right about being shit at meditation. The little brat still held it over her head that he was right.

"I need to head into Edge Town tomorrow to stock up on medical supplies. You guys are constantly getting hurt. I think we might need a break in training to prevent from getting caught stealing supplies from the hospital. They're starting to set traps now, not that they aren't manageable, I just rather not, you know? I also want to experiment with my range a bit. I think I can push it to 35 feet before money dispels." Both look at her concerned, because it's always a risk when experimenting with money. Tales start being told and those tales might spread to the wrong ears. The two of them were both fiercely protective of Sam, and she was just as protective of them.

They were a group that somehow managed to work well together. Ace and Sabo were both the heavy hitters of their group always charging head long into dangerous situations. Sam was the lookout that would take down an opponent from a distance. If need be, she would use her devil fruit powers to modify her body so that she could be a bit more hands on, but that invited the possibility that she might get distracted and lose control over her form.

She's noticed that the farther she can stretch her field of multiplication the harder it is to keep finite changes in place. It usually ends in her hair cycling through unusual colors or her body turning back to its original form with odd new additions, and that didn't help anyone. The only thing that seemed to stabilize her control was having clones running around at the same time. This wasn't ideal because her clones are homicidal on good days, she didn't want to see what type of carnage would happen if they were pissed.

"Alright, just be careful. Do you want either of us to come with you?" Ace asks in concern, and she feels a little bad shooting him with the BB Gun earlier. Not that the little snot didn't deserve it. Sam shakes her head no. She knows neither of them would really be of any use in her plan to sneak into the hospital. Also, the last thing she wanted was one of her brothers getting caught up in the trouble she creates.

"Nah, I'm just going to a cafe to test the range. They should put the beri in the register as soon as I pay. I just thought I'd let you know if you wanted to pickpocket a few people tomorrow." She states as she packs up the thoroughly depleted med kit. They both nod in agreement to come with her tomorrow. No doubt, itching at the chance to grow the pirate fund that much more. She didn't blame them; she wanted a nice ship to sail out with, not a row boat.

"Are you staying the night, Ace? Or is Dadan still freaking out when you don't come home?" Sabo asks as he starts pulling the grass up from where he sits. Sam flicks his hands away, because this is her little patch of greenery in the dirt covered clearing they had established as theirs. They had already expanded the little tent that originally only housed Sabo and herself. It was a tight squeeze as they got older, but they all fit under the structure. Sabo slaps her hands in response and then they both start slapping each other's hands. They're interrupted by Ace snorting in amusement. Sam and Sabo both look away embarrassed.

"Yeah, Dadan rarely cares if I come home or not. She just doesn't want Garp to visit and me not be there. That means she has to deal with him alone and doesn't have me to use as a buffer." Sam scowls at the woman's disgusting parenting skills, but says nothing because anyone other than him criticizing the woman got a face full of pipe.

"Maa, then we need to start hunting before it gets too late." Sam states as she gets up off the ground and stretches her back. Both the boys follow her lead and they head out into the forest to see what they can find. Hopefully, something large enough to sate Ace's black hole of a stomach.

The next day Sam finds herself using her male form to traverse through the streets of Edge Town. The hospital in Edge Town isn't very large. It's more of a place where the single doctors of Goa stay. Its location was in a small manor house hugging the boundary line of Edge Town and the Town Center.

Sam already has a plan formed to get what she needs. She raises one finger to her scarred lip and a clone pops into existence. Her clone immediately goes for her throat, like it always does when she isn't in pressing danger. Sam beats the clone up to where it starts bleeding from various cuts. She then orders her to multiply the blood quantity to make it seem like an emergency.

"You should let me beat you up, you wussy! Maybe a few shots to the face will have you doing your own dirty work, you lazy originator." The clone grumbles and bitches about Sam abusing her power. How the clone would be the better originator and she could use Sam as her pack mule.

Ignoring her vague concerns over the state of her psyche, Sam sneaks through the front door as doctors surround her seemingly bleeding out clone. They locked all the other entrances into the manor due to her thieving. So, she had to use the most obvious way to enter the house. The rest is a cake walk, it's the exit strategy that's a bit lacking. She knows once she reaches the 30 feet limit the clone of herself and its blood will disappear. The doctors will probably talk about the young boy that seemed to be bleeding out suddenly vanishing with nothing more than a pop.

The screams of alarm, and fury echo through the streets of Edge Town as Sam makes a quick getaway. She ducks into an alley and shifts her features. She changes her face to a young girl with dark brown hair and dark brown eyes. She removes her glasses and slumps her shoulders in to change her posture. She casually wanders out of the alleyway with a cloak draped over her ratty pants and button-down shirt. Her backpack full of ill-gotten goods is a heavy weight on her back, but she can bear it for the time being. She watches as doctors run through the street looking for a boy with silver blonde hair, slightly bent glasses, and blood decorating his ratty button-down shirt.

Sam keeps a steady pace and heads toward the nearest cafe. She finds one after walking nearly two blocks over from the alleyway where she shifted to her new form. Edge Town isn't as gleaming as the Town Center, but it's still a million times better than Gray Terminal. The cafe she comes up to has a few tables out on its patio; and customers mill around talking softly. Sam takes in the sight to make sure there are no marines or pirates around to start running after her if the owner notices the Beri she multiplies goes missing.

Satisfied at the lack of any threats, Sam walks into the cafe and waits behind a tall man with short brown hair. While she waits she notices as a pair of doctors come trudging in grumbling about the scoundrel that tricked them with a clone. Sam tightens her grip on the straps of her bag. When people start talking, rumors start to fly.

As the man in front of her finally leaves with his coffee, she realizes that he goes directly to the pair of doctors. Her eyes flash to his face and notices that a spoon is glued to the side of his cheek. Sam's heart lodges firmly in her throat as she realizes exactly who this man is and why he's probably here.

Vergo of the Donquixote pirates is in the middle of Goa talking to doctors about her power. Sam feels faint, and wants to collapse in a ball of tears. The man is so much taller and stronger than her. She fears what would happen if he catches her.

"Young miss, are you going to order?" Sam turns her head to the woman behind the counter and she pauses. What should she do?

Go through with her plan of testing her range and potentially getting the attention of the very dangerous man behind her, who was already questioning the doctors on this mysterious young boy who tricked them out of half their medical supplies?

Or does she turn around to leave and potentially get the attention of the man by being the odd little girl that suddenly decided to leave a cafe right as he's discussing a person who can shift their features? Sam makes a split-second decision and orders a cup of hot chocolate and takes a seat at one of the tables in the cafe to listen to the conversation between the doctor's and Vergo. She would wait until he left then leave.

"So, you're saying there is a young boy that can shift his features. He gives out disappearing money and is a thief?" Vergo summarizes the conversation. Sam clenches her cup tight as she lowers her head to hide her face in her cloak. The doctor's nod in the affirmative.

"Hmm, it's possible you guys have a devil fruit user on your hands. I'll look into it for you, I have some connections with the marines, I can see if we can't catch the little thief." Vergo reassures both men and they give a relieved smile at the offer of help. Sam can feel all the color in her face drain as she thinks about an increased marine presence near Portgas D. Ace.

That meant that Garp would probably take notice. That meant that Doflamingo would know someone with the More-More fruit power was walking around, which would mean more pirates in the area as well. She was so royally screwed.

Sam feels a heavy gaze land upon her form and she realizes that she's been staring at Vergo, and he was staring right back. The tilted head he was sending her way made her give him a fake smile in return. How much more suspicious could she possibly make herself? Sam wants to launch herself off the highest building for making such a foolish mistake. Throwing all caution to the wind, Sam walks over to the man to distract him from his no doubt suspicious thoughts. Maybe, he'd brush off the fact a small girl had been caught staring at him. His odd appearance is reason enough to stare.

"Mister, did you know that you have a spoon stuck to your face?" Sam asks in the sweet little girl tone she learned to perfect under the Outlooks. The man raises an eyebrow and puts a hand to his face and starts patting around for the utensil. He finds it after a few seconds of awkward silence.

"Ah, so I did. Thank you," he says as he starts stirring his coffee with the now rediscovered spoon. Sam is a bit flabbergasted and wants to blurt out 'how can you not notice a spoon stuck to your face?' But all she does is nod and walk away with her hot chocolate in hand. She knows she can't linger or he might analyze the situation that much more. Sam's mostly confident that the lady at the counter should have already put away the multiplied beri.

She wonders what exactly she could do to keep her brothers safe and away from the marines and pirates alike when they were all so vulnerable at this age. Sam never viewed herself as self-sacrificing, in fact she would shove most people under a moving bus. But, this was Sabo and Ace that she was talking about here. Her brothers, the ones that pull her from her thoughts of memories long past, the ones that always make sure to include her when plotting and planning, the ones who slowly start to fill the empty gaping hole in her chest with each smile and laugh they had together. The camaraderie they shared was something she treasured above everything else.

Sam doesn't even realize as she hits the 35-foot marker. What she does notice is an enraged scream.

"Stop that girl! It's the Shifter!" The woman behind the counter of the cafe shouts. Yelling and screaming could be heard echoing through the town. Her heart stops in her chest and she is faced with a life altering decision.

She could lose them all by creating a diversion. The townspeople weren't the problem. Her problem was the pirate that seemed to be on a mission from Doflamingo. The pirate that seems to bring the threat of a marine presence coming to Goa. A place where Gol D. Rogers only child was living. A place where they know that a blonde boy similar to Sabo is wandering around swindling people. The chance of her brother getting mistaken as Sam is a high probability. She realizes that she'd already made her choice as soon as they'd threatened her brothers.

It would always be them before her, because the thought of feeling a loss similar to what she felt for her nephew was unbearable. Nothing could compare to that lost empty feeling that engulfed all her senses. The thought of living without her twin was excruciating, the thought of Ace not being there for her to fight by her side was like a knife to the chest. Sam, Sam wasn't even supposed to be here to begin with, they would meet Luffy and they would be fine.

Sam would be fine as long as they were safe. From what she heard through rumor, Outlook III was still in intensive therapy for burns he sustained in the fire. That changed everything in terms of Sabo being spotted and being dragged into the Bluejam incident. She also demanded that they stay far away from the Town Center and High Town. She's almost positive that she changed that outcome for her brother. It needed to be enough, because her ticket was punched as soon as she walked into the same cafe as Vergo. This threat to her brothers was the more significant one right now. Sam was one person, there was only so much she could do.

With her mind made up, Sam darts into an alleyway and rips off her cloak. She tents all ten of her fingers together and makes 10 copies of herself. They all look on edge and homicidal, just not at her this time. They all give each other a knowing look like 'this could very well be the end of our life.' Sam refuses to be anyone's slave, she would rather die than be enslaved. The original Sam crosses her arms and purses her lips.

"Five of you, distract the angry towns people. The other five be on the lookout for Ace and Sabo. Don't let them anywhere near Vergo. Knock them out and pull them into an alleyway. I doubt this is going to be a long fight. I'm no match for this guy. But, that doesn't mean I can't give him hell." Sam announces as she reverts to her male form. All ten run out of the mouth of the alleyway. Facing the back of the alleyway she can already feel the man's dominating presence behind her waiting.

* * *

Next Chapter: Sam V.S. Vergo.


	7. Sam VS Vergo! Give Us Perspective Sabo!

Sam would be the first to admit that she did a lot of things flying by the seat of her pants. This would be one of those times, because trying to even bruise the man who could turn his entire body into a haki lined death machine was so far out of her league that she wasn't sure if they were even in the same universe (and wasn't that ironic). This guy was literally the worst opponent for her. Sam relied on her guns, which was useless when faced with haki, she supposes if she could use haki on her gun and bullets it might help. Thing is, she doesn't know the first thing about activating such a skill. Sam also wasn't going to learn in the less than a minute it would take Vergo to reach her. She was just lucky that she did carry the stray stick of dynamite for an improvised get away method.

The soft tapping of shoes against cobblestone has her back tensing. Sam's heart is racing fast and she feels shaky. She tries to remember anything that might help her in this situation, but she was drawing a complete blank in the face of her impending death, which she likes to think is a very reasonable thing to feel. Her palms are clammy and she honestly thinks her last death was preferable than being beaten to a gory mess on the cobblestone pavement. Sam's panicked thoughts are rudely interrupted by the very dangerous pirate she was trying to ignore.

"So, you're the troublemaker that's been terrorizing this fine town. As a marine, I cannot allow for this behavior to stand. You'll have to come with me to headquarters, my boss will be most interested in your power, though. If you impress him I'm sure he could find you a place on a navy ship." Sam let's her shoulder length blonde hair fall over her face and eyes as she smiles. What a sly, sly bastard this guy is to pull the marine card. Play to the sense of adventure any kid would have about the sea. Fool her enough to get on a ship and hand her over gift wrapped to Doflamingo.

"Maa, the problem with that, spoon-guy, is that I don't think you're with the marines. In fact, I'd go as far as to say you're a pirate of Donquixote." Sam states as she puts her left hand into her pocket and summons a copy of her gun. Her right-hand brushes five fingers against her cheek and summons her clones behind the man. The tapping of shoes stops and Sam exhales as she tries to calm her nerves.

"Oh, and how would a child like you know such information on an important guy like him?" Sam relaxes her shoulders and exhales one more time.

"I have my sources," Sam comments idly as she whips out her pistol from her pocket, cocks it, turns around, and shoots as many rounds as possible. The five behind him copying the movement. The splatter of blood across her face lets her know she's at least wounded him. In less than five seconds a haki lined fist is planted directly in her face and Sam drops to the ground. She can hardly feel the side of her face that's been hit. That's how hard the punch nails her. Trying to regain her senses, she pats around for her guns. She fails to notice Vergo gripping his haki lined bamboo stick. The pole hits both her hands as fast as lightning speed and it makes it feel like every bone in her hand is broken. Sam screams and holds her hands close to her chest. Her five other clones are nearly to the point of dispelling after suffering too much damage. But she knows they have enough energy to light the stick of dynamite that they all carry.

"So, you're the little rat that had the balls to directly defy Young Master. I'm irritated that a shitty kid like you actually got a couple bullets in me. But, I suppose that's my own fault for not taking you seriously as a potential threat." The man comments as he swings the haki lined pole again, he was so fast Sam couldn't even track his movements. The pole hits her in her stomach and she feels herself pass out from the pain.

When she opens her eyes she sees that she's standing in front of Sabo and Ace, talking? Sitting on them? Was she in the body of one of her clones? Sam is thrown back into her original body as a fist lands on the other side of her face.

"Do you know how long I've been searching for you? Two-years of encountering wall after wall. Trying to balance being a marine and finding you has been a living hell. But I would do anything for Young Master. I have to wonder what happened that allowed you to be caught this time? No one knew what you really looked like. No one knew when you would show up or where. Perhaps, you got too confident in your abilities? I finally get enough pull to call in a few favors to get a few marines here and you immediately walk right up to me. Could it be that you're hiding something?" The man was now crouching to look at her a little closer. She tried to keep a firm lock on her transformation but the pain from the haki coated stick to the stomach was agonizing and she wasn't sure if one of her organs had ruptured. She could feel her features morphing and the testosterone draining from her system.

The man gave a closed lip smile that made her want to punch him in his smug face. The muffin he had in his beard made him look that much more stupid. Sam couldn't believe this was the man that would be her downfall. A man who couldn't even clean his face with a fucking napkin. It pissed Sam off so much. She should have known that she could never be happy.

"Outlook L. Samantha. My, what a surprise. Here I was thinking that I was looking at Sabo, so the idiot noble got something right at least. Young Master will be most pleased that Outlook's part of the contract is going to be fulfilled to its fullest extent. Your father was most certain that it was you that set fire to his mansion and escaped. The fact that the fruit never showed up again was the only thing that was keeping him alive." Sam glared at the man and out of the corner of her eye she watched as seven of her clones return with sticks of dynamite already lit.

"See you in hell, you motherfucker." Sam spits and darts a hand up to his head, where the haki had since faded, and multiplies the strands of hair to distract him as she raises her gun to her head. She cocks the trigger and her breath is ragged from what was no doubt a broken rib. Her hands ache from the previous hits with his bamboo stick, but she's already running on adrenaline.

"SAM STOP! PLEASE STOP!" Sam freezes and closes her eyes. She curses Sabo's and Ace's name vehemently in her head. It would be all for nothing if they got caught. The one time she does something self-sacrificing they do something stupid and foolish to save her. Six-year-olds who were fragile and could be so easily killed by the explosion about to happen. She feels the black haki lined body slam her into the pavement and it knocks the gun out of her hand.

"GET OUT OF THE ALLEY AND RUN, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF YOU GET KILLED AFTER ALL OF THIS. LIVE! LIVE FOR ME AND GET FAR, FAR AWAY FROM THIS MAN! IT'S MY LAST WISH. HONOR IT. I REFUSE TO BE ENSLAVED."

The flash of heat and flame that wash over her tells her that it's too late for anything to change. She prays that her brother has managed to escape safely. That he finds his adventure and lives his life to the fullest. Sam passes out once again as smoke fills her lungs and flames eat away at her flesh.

* * *

Sabo's always known that there was something special about his sister. Even before the devil fruit power, she was always so smart and mature. Sam would never admit it though, she didn't like being praised for her intelligence. She also liked to make the Outlook's lives more complicated by being troublesome. Their parents were a hard topic for either of them to discuss.

He was sure that his twin would love a couple more shots at burning down the manor. He knows that he certainly would, he still thought his sister a bit stingy for not letting him rip apart his shitty father's office. He can see that she holds back her anger so as to not incite his fury further. His sister did a lot of that, made sacrifices for him. It made him mad sometimes when she did it, because he never asked for it.

He knew his sister was a violent pyromaniac with slight shades of kleptomania. She was selfish to a fault when it didn't concern anyone but himself or Ace. He had seen her shoot a guy in the butt for daring to try and steal her sandwich. She had pistol whipped the last street rat that tried to pickpocket her. So, he knew his sister wasn't a selfless person by nature. But somehow, she was always putting himself and Ace first. That was her way of showing that she loved deeper than anyone he knew. He both loved and hated that part of her because she put herself in danger by doing stupid stuff.

He can remember the time that someone insulted Ace and she stole the bag of gold they were carrying. Well, the person who insulted Ace was part of a group of bandits traveling through Gray Terminal. They didn't take too kindly to a five-year-old stealing from supposedly mean and scary bandits. They came at her the next day and she almost got a knife in the back of her neck if it wasn't for Ace taking it in the shoulder instead. His brother had saved her and he could never be more thankful.

Ace had been a surprise. The fact that Sam led him straight to their hideout was shocking. Sam had nagged him to death about keeping the secrecy of their little campsite. Telling him that anyone that knew about their location was a threat and could tell adults that they were living in the woods. They could be separated if that happened. He couldn't let that happen, because they had barely escaped that situation. He never again wanted to feel that heart stopping fear of losing his twin.

But, Sabo was glad that Sam had broken that rule for Ace. He had become a brother to the both of them. Ace was never afraid to go toe to toe with his sister when she was in one of her moods. The moods that she got in when all she wanted to do was see the world burn. Those were bad, but the moods he hated the most were when she was so sad and lost in her own world she wouldn't respond to anyone. He was always afraid that he would lose her to that sadness. He never liked it when she would wake up screaming and clutching at her chest. Muttering about a nephew and crying like someone had ripped her heart out and stomped on it.

Sabo wasn't sure who this nephew was, but he had his suspicions. Though he would never voice them in fear of being called completely nuts. Even if he did he doubted that Sam would ever admit to anything. He also doubted that she would be able to talk about it. He wouldn't ask her to speak about something that would cause her so much pain.

Sam internalized her pain and channeled it through destruction. Not exactly the best way to deal with her hurt, but that was Sam, she was unconventional. She was a little pyro and most of the time her antics made him laugh. Despite him chastising her about destruction of property and being exasperated at having to run damage control it was mostly calculated destruction.

The nudge to his side had him looking at his brother. Ace cocked his thumb at a woman with a stupidly frilly dress and impractical heels. The cloth umbrella she was holding was completely unnecessary and just reminded him of the scummy nobles of High Town. Ace was pointing her out as a potential mark and he could see where he was coming from. The purse on her shoulder should be easy enough to snatch.

Sabo nods and they get ready to make a practiced move of bumping into the woman and grabbing her purse. They both are distracted when they notice three clones of Sam's male form running from a group of men holding swords and guns. Sabo lets his jaw drop open, because Sam almost never gets caught. He wonders what possibly could have tripped her up enough to be being chased. She usually just changes her form and loses the pursuers in the crowd.

He looks over to Ace to see his eyes narrowed as he was probably thinking the same thing as Sabo.

"She's causing a distraction," Ace surmises as the group passes them by at a good clip. The clones catch their eye and smile.

"Something's wrong," Sabo can feel it in his bones. His sister was in danger and he didn't know where she was, they needed to find her. Ace picks up his pipe and they start running. He knows that she couldn't be too far because of her range of multiplication. But there were a lot of alleyways and empty store houses in the area around them.

They're in the midst running through the backstreets of Edge Town when they are both side swept by three of Sam's clones. The clones hold them down and keep them from moving. Sabo is confused and irritated. He just wants to find his sister and leave. He feels nervous, like there is no time to spare. He struggles against the clones hold and grits his teeth when there is no give.

"What the hell, Sam! What the fuck is going on!" Ace shouts as he tries to push the doppelganger off of him. The clone wrestles him back down to the ground. Ace starts panting in exertion because of how hard he is trying to overcome Sam's devil fruit enhanced strength.

"Maa, I'm currently facing down with a Donquixote pirate. Originator doesn't want you two getting in the way. The guy's also a marine, he threatened to bring a marine force to Goa to search for her. She refuses to allow that to happen." It's quiet for a moment as he tries to digest that information. Sabo looks over to Ace when he hears him growling. His face is red from struggling and tears are falling down the side of his face. Sabo is momentarily stunned. Ace never cried.

"She knew, all this time she knew and she said nothing! Why would she risk her life for a demon like me! It makes no sense to give her life for me!" He shouts as he tries even harder to push the copy of his sister off of him. The one clone that wasn't holding either of them down walks over and leans down to flick Ace in the head. It stops his movements and he stares wide eyed at the Sam look alike.

"Originator couldn't care less about who your father is, idiot. Your father could be the devil himself and she would still love you. You're her brother, that means she protects you with everything she is, and does it gladly. Even at the risk of her own life." The Sam clone states this like it's a fact of life. Ace looked to be holding back his sobs and tears his eyes away from the clone that was talking to him. Sabo doesn't know what they are talking about, but he's more concerned about his sister risking her life.

"Where are you Sam?! Let us go and find you!" Sabo shouts and struggles even more in his sister's hold.

"Maa, no can do, brother. It would be the exact opposite of helpful. If Vergo knows there are more people here that know and care for originator, he could possibly use you as hostages or kill you. The alleyway will be destroyed in the explosion originator is planning. She doesn't want you guys caught in that, it would nullify what she's trying to do. In other words, she is trying to protect your lives." Sabo felt the blood drain from his face as he started making connections he never wanted to know. It sounded like his sister was planning on dying. The more he thought about it the more it made sense. She would rather die than be under anyone's thumb. Had she not set fire to an entire manor in rebellion of the contract? She was always going to choose death over capture.

"Don't," is the only thing that he can whisper out as the gravity of the situation hits him like a wrecking ball. His sister was going to kill herself to protect them and to avoid being taken captive. That was unacceptable on so many levels he didn't know where to start. How dare she think that she could just leave him behind without so much as a goodbye? She didn't get to just kill herself and not do her all to survive.

What the hell was he suppose to do without his twin? His other half that would move mountains to help him. The one person that would hold him when he cried about having shitty parents. The person that would bare a scar on her face for the rest of her life for standing up to their horrid bitch of a mother. The only one that would treat his wounds and yell at him for being reckless. The only one that cared when he was reckless.

Sabo bucks the clone holding him down off of himself. He knocks it out and he can see Ace doing the same. Once all three of the clones are knocked out he grabs his pipe off the ground and starts running.

"SAM! Where are you, Sam!" He calls as he races through the alleyways. It feels like hours have passed before he finds her and the guy that was daring to try to take her away from them. He feels like he's been shot when he sees his sister looking so hurt and holding her gun to her head. Her hand was shaking and he could hear the clicking of the metal as she tries to steady her hand; which from the look of it, was severely bruised.

"SAM STOP! PLEASE STOP!" He calls and it's all he can do not to drop to his knees and beg his sister to stay. He can't remove his eyes from his sister's form even as 12 clones block his way. They hand off the dynamite to other clones and start pushing him away from the site. Sabo stares as the man covered in a gleaming black substance tackles his sister to the ground. The gun flys out of her hand and scrapes against the cobblestone pavement. Sabo is glad that the gun is out of her reach, but he's also furious that the man dared to touch his sister. He focuses in on the situation when he hears her shouting.

"GET OUT OF THE ALLEY AND RUN, I'LL NEVER FORGIVE YOU IF YOU GET KILLED AFTER ALL OF THIS. LIVE! LIVE FOR ME AND GET FAR, FAR AWAY FROM THIS MAN! IT'S MY LAST WISH. HONOR IT. I REFUSE TO BE ENSLAVED." Nothing registers as he thinks about how he would ever be able to live without his twin, his sister. Her last wish was for him to live. Why would she ask so much from him? It was worse than cruel to tell him to live when she wasn't going to be there by his side.

He can feel Ace coming up behind him. He feels a body slam him into the ground as a flash of light and heat brush his face. Something in his chest feels broken as he looks up to see all the clones have dispelled. The crackling of the fire echoes in his ears as the flames rise higher and higher.

"NOO! SAM!" He's not sure how such a tortured sound can come from a human throat, but it does and there's nothing he can do to stop the harsh sobs tearing themselves from his chest. All he can do is cry, because part of him is lost. It feels as if a limb was amputated. The bright hum of energy that usually fills his chest is cold and aching.

The pressure that had been on his back removes itself. Sabo doesn't move until he feels a hand closing around his. He looks over to see Ace who's rolled over to his back and is staring unblinkingly at the sunny afternoon sky. Silent tears run down his face and he knows that his brother is in shock. The smoke rises higher and higher slowly blocking out the sun.

Sabo feels numb as he sluggishly rolls over on his back and looks at the mid-afternoon sky. He could remember that around this time yesterday they were all fine. They were all whole and together. Now, he feels as if he's been stripped of everything that made him, Sabo. The screams of the townspeople draw his attention to the fact that the alleyway is still on fire. He absently wonders just how long they've been there, and why no one was here sooner.

Sabo can feel Ace tugging at his hand to get him up and moving. He feels like his entire body is made of lead and all he wants to do is stare at the raging fire. He wants to see his strong sister walk through the flames and call him her adorable little brother. Sabo wants to hear Ace and Sam bickering. He wants her tight hugs and gentle hair ruffles.

Ace tries talking to him but his ears are ringing and he can't hear anything. Tears are falling again (did they ever stop?) His brother is pulling his hand and he notices that he somehow has gotten to his feet (when?) They start running. Sabo wants to keep running, because this must be a dream.

They're hiding in one of the back alleys of Edge Town when Sabo feels it; the familiar flare of bright warmth in his chest ignites. Sabo drops to his knees and he feels like he can breathe for the first time in forever. His twin.

* * *

Next Chapter: You Have A Problem.

A/N: Thank you guys for the reviews and support. It makes me happy to know people look forward to what I write.


	8. That's A Lot Of Pink

The groaning of wood and water crashing has Sam opening her eyes. The fact that she can still open her eyes has her stomach dropping in bitter disappointment. If she was still alive, that meant that she was most likely captured. Sam takes stock of her body and notices that her arms and chest are bandaged. Sitting up she sees that she's on an infirmary bed. She temporarily puts that out of her mind as she looks at her bandages. They seem to have been done by a professional. That makes her feel marginally better, that the creeps of the Donquixote Pirates had kept their filthy mitts away from her. Sam makes a move to brush her hair out of her face and is stopped by the clanking of metal. Looking down she notices that she's handcuffed to the bed and rage burns inside of her at the thought of being caged.

She tries to pull and tug at the immoveable chains, but the more she struggles the less energy she feels she has, like something was draining her. Sam looks closer at the cuffs and wonders if it was made with sea-prism stone. It takes a few seconds for that thought to register before she starts cursing a blue streak.

"That no good, foul, disgusting bastard. Who the fu-" Sam is cut off from her rant when the door to the room she's in opens. Sam looks up and finds herself a bit speechless at the sheer amount of pink the man wears. Sam ends up blurting out the first thing that comes to her mind as she stares at the cloak.

"Maa, you must like pink a lot," Sam comments idly. She briefly looks away from his clothing and to his face. There was a vein pulsing in his forehead at her disrespect. The thought that this was Doflamingo clicks in her head and she wants to punch herself in the face repeatedly. Though, she can't find it in herself to apologize. When Sam's chained to a hospital bed she finds herself surprisingly unforgiving.

Sam would be lying if she didn't find this man frightening. He was extremely tall, taller than anyone she'd ever met. The shark like grin that he wore promised unpleasant things should she keep talking. The thing was Sam had wanted to die to avoid this entire situation. Yet, here she was patched up and still breathing. She had no idea what plans the man had for her, but she's pretty sure killing her at this very second wasn't one of them. That scared Sam more than anything. She knew what came after dying, she didn't know the tortuous plans this man had for her.

"You're quite mouthy, aren't you?" The wide grin broadened slightly as she balls her hand into a fist. She wanted to be more than a bit mouthy. She wanted to punch this guy in the face. He started to laugh and Sam was infuriated. Sam kept her head down and said nothing, she wouldn't give him the satisfaction of riling her up to bury herself deeper.

"Now, now, you were all too willing to talk just a moment ago." The man chides her like she's an errant child. It gives her the creeps and she wants to tell him to mind his own fucking business. Sam keeps her mouth shut and looks away from the intimidating man. Even if she can't see his eyes, it feels like he can see straight through her child facade. The one she wore only in the presence of adults. She feels stripped bare and it makes her so unbelievably uncomfortable that she wants to crawl out of her own skin.

"Samantha, I am not a patient man. Especially, when one of my elite officers comes in with five bullet wounds, burn wounds, and smoke inhalation. By all rights I should kill you, and from what I was told that was your goal in Edge Town. But, you see, you have something that I want. That nifty little devil fruit of yours will come in mighty handy to my future plans. If my theory pans out correctly, you're going to be invaluable." Sam stares at the monologuing idiot with cold eyes and says nothing. She would find a way out of this, she had to, bowing her head to this man was completely unacceptable. Even if she were to try and fool him, that would be the equivalent of ceding to his wishes. It would be like she never escaped the mafia.

"Ahh, you're also proud. You probably find the prospect of being told what to do absolutely detestable, don't you?" He laughs his stupid laugh and Sam looks away because him reading her every emotion has her on edge. All she wants is to be with Sabo and Ace on Mount Corvo hunting some tigers or crocodiles.

"You're also closed off, you hate that you're in such a weak position. You also hate that I can read you so clearly. You're used to having the upper hand. Your setting fire to Outlook's manor told me as much. You're also clever, you probably knew exactly what would happen as soon as you defied your head of house. But your pride would allow for nothing less. It all goes back to control, doesn't it Sam?" He laughs again and Sam is at her breaking point. How dare he mock her for needing to have control. Control was the one thing that she needed when trying to survive on the streets. It was the only common denominator that could see her through anything.

"And what makes you any better than me? Becoming a pirate captain indicates a want for leadership, a need for control, a need to be free. What is it that you want to be free from?" Sam snaps back, just to stop him from laughing at her. The man crosses his arms and smirks, like he's won something. Sam would like to hit herself in the face, repeatedly, with a 2x4, but her hands are still cuffed to the bed.

"Interesting, how would a little girl like you know that I am a pirate captain? In fact, from what Vergo tells me, you knew that he was part of my crew when only my family knows that. Not even the marines are aware of that information. You seem quite informed, Samantha. Is there something you're hiding? Something more than just a devil fruit power." Sam purses her lips as her brain starts working double time to come up with a believable lie that would satisfy this man's curiosity.

"Is it so odd to read the wanted posters? At the start of this conversation you admitted to the man being one of your officers. I took that to mean that you are a captain. As for your crew member, it was merely a guess. I've seen the contract. I know the price you paid to have me under your control. No one would want that type of expensive merchandise walking off to who knows where. I always knew that you would eventually find me. Even if I wished you to believe I was dead." The smile was back and he was laughing again, most likely just to put her on edge.

"What a very smart little girl you are. You seem to have an answer for everything, don't you? There is something about you Outlook L. Samantha that is special. No average 6-year-old noble could have deduced so accurately the situation they find themselves in with such little time. No average 4-year-old noble could have had the sense, or hatred to burn down a noble's mansion. No average 4-year old noble would have waited until their father returned to look at a contract. You're hiding something and I intend to find out. In the meantime, you will find yourself the new proud owner of irremovable seastone bracelets tomorrow. I do hope you enjoy your time with the Donquixote Pirates. I'll send Baby 5 to get you some clothes. Do remember to thank Law for his medical expertise as well, won't you?" The man laughs and strides out of the room. Something is lodged in Sam's throat and she is determined not to cry. Crying helps no one, especially herself. But how does she help herself in the case where she is captured and powerless. She wants to go and put a hole in the bastard's head for making her feel this way. Sam was a strong person, but sometimes it felt as if the world was falling, that there was nothing she could do but watch it be destroyed.

She falls back against the bed and stares at the wooden ceiling questioning all her life choices up until this point. Sam would never regret keeping marines away from Ace. She would do that over and over again no matter the scenario. The thought of the young boy being killed for his father's sins pissed her off to no end. She couldn't stand for that type of foolishness. With that move of keeping the marines away she also saved her twin from being mistaken as her and being sent to Doflamingo. A man that would most-likely murder her brother once he learned that he didn't have her devil fruit power. No, she didn't regret taking that bullet for her brothers.

What she did regret was the loss of her freedom, having the choice of death being taken from her was a slap to the face. She would honestly be happier dead than chained to the underworld for another lifetime. She had done her time in her last life, she had been hoping for a new start here; but that was looking more and more unlikely.

The role that Donquixote was trying to force Sam into felt like a second-hand suit. The suit was well used and tattered. Someone else had worn it, and worn it well considering it was still usable. She didn't really want to wear it, but she obviously had no choice or she would have just gotten a new suit. It was ill fitting and it felt as if she was wearing someone else's skin.

Sam wasn't the same person that died on the kitchen floor of the Marino family. She was an older sister now, a twin, she had a hard-headed older brother, and was a needed member of their little group. She wasn't the drug running cold-hearted bitch that she had been in her last life. She had found happiness even though her nephew was a world away and she didn't know how his life was going. This man was forcing her to become someone that she already had been, but never really liked.

Doflamingo was like the shitty head of the Marino family that would hold a gun to her head and threaten her life if she didn't do as she was told. It disheartened her so much, because for all that she had changed, about herself, her life was still headed in the same direction. It was inescapable. She had hoped so fervently for this entire world to be something new, something resembling freedom. Yet, here she was chained to a bed unable to fight. Sam would never call herself a quitter, but this was the closest she ever felt to just giving up and donning that well used suit that she kept locked in the back of her mind.

Sam's thoughts are interrupted when a boy a few years older than herself walks in the room along with a man roughly the size of Doflamingo with a black feathered cloak. Sam wants to shout at them that knocking would have been polite, but she can't find it in herself to fight now. The man seems utterly disinterested with a cigarette hanging from his lips, his arms crossed, and leaning up against the doorway.

Sam studies them both, and is stunned to realize that she knows the two people in front of her. Trafalgar D. Water Law and (Corazon) Donquixote Rosinante. She blinks a bit in shock before she notices that both are staring at her. She says nothing. Perhaps that could be her new policy, a silent protest.

She realizes that Law looks completely unhealthy. The pallor of his skin makes it look like he's a moving corpse, his dark eyes let Sam know that he has seen unspeakable things, his frowning face lets her know that he doesn't care about her and he's just doing a job. In all he seems like an utterly unpleasant person to be around, but Sam can relate. The pallor of the skin of weeks of no sleep because of the memories that haunt her, seeing unspeakable acts of humankind make her want to scream at the world, and she could honestly care less about anyone but her brothers.

"How can you bear it, holding that much hatred? How do you not just set fire to the world?" She asks, already breaking her silent protest idea. She was never good at keeping her mouth shut as it was, this was no different, evidently. Sam doesn't know why she asks. Perhaps, it's because at the moment she hates the universe so much right now she's clueless as to how to process all of it.

How can he handle not being able to just destroy the government that so thoroughly wronged him? How can he stand here so calmly treating her wounds with the impossible situation he finds himself in, of dying in a few years because of corrupt world leaders? All she could look forward to being was the toady of Doflamingo for the next 16 years. At least until Luffy kicked his ass. The thought of losing that much time to this man was killing her.

Sam blinks as the boy steps closer to the side of her bed. He's giving her a questioning look.

"I never wanted to be a part of the criminal underworld, you know? Pirate? Maybe, if I could find someone that could assure me of freedom. But, I never wanted a place where my freedom is so stifled that it feels like I can't breathe anymore. Never a place where the promise of death isn't even an option anymore. How can anyone agree with slavery? What purpose does it serve, besides making weak fools feel powerful?" Sam smiles as she takes in the clueless face he's making. She turns her head back to the ceiling and shuts both man and boy out as she holds back her despair. While she's sure they can understand where she was coming from, they know nothing about her. They weren't about to make friends with a girl that rambled like a crazy person.

Sam could accept that they wouldn't be friends. She was usually not like this, broken that is. She could put on a mask like the best of them, but she was currently handcuffed to an infirmary bed. At the mercy of a total psychopath. The sort of pitying look that Law gives her makes her want to scream. She didn't want pity! She wanted her freedom, she wanted to put a bullet through Doflamingo's head for daring to chain her. She just wanted her brothers back with her.

The tears she feels building in her eyes sting. This kid shed his tears already; they were a sign of weakness. They were weakness, one that Sam can't afford, but her body seems to be betraying her at the moment. She can feel Law and Corazon's gaze trying to pierce her, but she's already open for the world to see. There was no need to look underneath anything; all her shields were down right now.

Law continues checking her over never speaking as he listens to her heart, checks the rotation on her arms, and makes sure her bandages are still wrapped tight. Sam stays quiet and she can feel Corazon's gaze set firmly on her face. She continues to stare at the ceiling clenching her teeth and willing herself not to cry until both of them are out of her room.

As soon as they leave she feels the first tears fall. They keep falling and she can't stop them because she'll be in chains for at least 16 years. Committing unspeakable acts as a human being because it was either that or suffer what Doflamingo has planned if she's insubordinate. Everything seemed so bright when she was with Sabo and Ace, like they could do anything if they were together. Now, it felt like someone put a bag over her head and was slowly suffocating her. Sam sniffs back the snot that seems to be dripping down her face, it echoes in the empty room and she feels so alone. She wipes away the remnants of her tears on her bandages. She winces as she feels the bandages catch on her busted lip. Sam's sure she looks a mess.

The knock on the door has her turning her head to the side and watching as a young girl with black hair flounces into the room, all smiles. The cheerful yellow ribbon that decorated her hair seems utterly unfitting for Sam's current mood. She wants to slap that stupid look off the girl's face for not realizing the current situation she's in; not knowing just how soul sucking working for an underworld organization can be for a woman.

The girl sets the clothes down on the bed and looks expectantly toward Sam. She wishes she had her hands free so she could hit the girl to knock some sense into her. How can she not understand that Doflamingo is the last person you would want as your captain? That he would sacrifice everyone and everything for his goals. Sam can only glare as the girl rocks back and forth on the tips of her toes, smiling.

"Do you want a cookie or something? Leave! I'm not about to thank my captors!" She shouts at the girl while still laying on her back. The girl tears up and runs away, slamming the door behind her. The kid has no idea that she was disposable to Doflamingo. It was like living on a knife's edge with a man like him. They were all subjects to his will.

Sam can't sleep and she doesn't know how many hours she spends just staring at the ceiling. It must have been a while because when Law walks in with Corazon she can hear movement on the deck and the light shines through the door brightly causing her to squint. She looks over to the side table and notices the untouched meal someone must have left her. It's not like she could have stomached it anyway. She looks away and notices that Corazon was lighting a cigarette and a second later his cloak seems to catch fire. Law rolls his eyes and grabs the water on the table next to him and pours it over the building fire.

"Maa, perhaps trying to light it without the cloak? Baby steps, you know?" Sam suggests quirking her eyebrow. The scowl he gives her makes her lips give a twitch of amusement. The snort that comes from Law was the most surprising. The light bit of humor vanishes as soon as she moves her hands and the metal rattles against the bed. Sam grimaces and lays back down with her facing the ceiling. Unmoving, she tries to delude herself into thinking she still has her freedom.

The man with the blond hair walks over to where she was laying down and unlocks the handcuffs chaining her to the bed. She can see that he was wearing gloves as he handles the heavy cuffs. He pauses for a minute before he locks two large bracelets around her wrists and Sam looks away in disgust at the bulky cuffs that now decorate her arms. She was chained and it's a bitter pill to swallow. She figures that her dark humor might be useful in a situation like this.

"Well, as far as the slavery welcoming committee goes, 10 out of 10 for not mocking me. I'm sure the pink guy would have been drooling at the chance to flaunt his superiority. You got a bomb collar on you as well, I hear it's all the rage in Mariejois. Wouldn't want to be behind on the times." Her tone is sarcastic and she can see as Corazon flinches at her words. She's not sure if it's because of her words condemning him for aiding in her subjection or the mention of Mariejois. He slowly removes his hands and straightens his posture before walking out of the room.

Law is left and is staring at her intently. Sam isn't sure what he's looking for and she frowns as she starts to feel uncomfortable. Shifting her body to make the silence a little less awkward Sam can feel the heavy weight of the cuffs on her hands. She feels broken inside as she thinks about her utter lack of freedom. But, she has to keep moving. She couldn't let the pink idiot have it his way. That was exactly what the man wanted, wasn't it? For Sam to be compliant. Well, he couldn't have picked a worse person. Sam was rebellious on a good day, and a belligerent little brat on bad days.

"Maa, what's with the staring, Doc? Is it so strange to see a girl in chains?" Sam asks crassly as she hops down from the bed and takes the clothes Baby 5 left on the bed to change behind the bed curtain.

"Who are you?" It was the first time hearing his voice and she's a bit surprised at how strong it was, it was completely contradictory to his appearance.

"The name's Sam, former resident Shifter of Goa Kingdom, current slave of Donquixote. But, I suppose that's just semantics to you people." Sam pulls the dress that Baby 5 gave her down over her head and is dismayed that it has a apron sewn into the dress. It looked like she was wearing a maid's uniform. She looked ridiculous, she was no one's maid. She wanted her short jean overalls and black shirt back.

"Say, Doc what's a girl around here gotta do to get some nicer clothes. This dress isn't going to cut it, I'm afraid." Sam asks as she comes from behind the bed curtain. Law looks at her with something in his eyes. Anger, confusion, sadness seems to all be a part of his expression. Yeah, Sam can relate, but she wasn't really in the position to be comforting anyone.

"Maa, I'll take your silence as 'No Sam, I do not know where you can find your own clothes.' Do you know if they'll allow me weapons? Wait, scratch that, I doubt pinky would let me use guns after what I did to Vergo. Hey, Doc? How bad off was the asshole? In fact, how did I survive? I was pretty sure that I had enough dynamite in that alley to do a sea king some damage." Sam scratches the back of her head as she tries to find her shoes. Looking under the bed turns up nothing. Sitting on her knees Sam is a bit clueless to where to start looking. Said shoes were shoved in her face by a frowning Law. Sam gives him a bit of a glare for shoving things in her face, but she takes the shoes anyway.

"Vergo had 2 bullets in his right thigh, 1 in his right shoulder, and 2 in his left arm. He also had severe burn wounds across 20% of his body from the dynamite that you lit. As well as, smoke inhalation. You on the other hand were seriously injured due to Vergo's attack. With 2 broken ribs, a ruptured spleen, a concussion, burn wounds across 15% of your body, and broken fingers. From what I understand your heart stopped several times. If it wasn't for his contacts in the marines and having them stabilize you, I'm sure you would be dead. Vergo said that he covered your body when the explosion went off. He also wishes fervently that you rot in the deepest depths of hell and that you are, and I quote "an insufferable bitch". Like I said, his words not mine." Law announces this and Sam gives him a suspicious look as she slips her shoes on her feet. She wonders if he said that just to be a smart ass. The more she thinks about it the more it makes sense; what a little troll.

"Maa, if you ever see him again tell him that I said him first, and that he's a ham-handed fuckwit who couldn't even find a six-year-old if they walked up and said hello. If it makes you feel better, you can quote me on that as well." Sam plants both hands on her hips and nods her head as if her words solved everything. Though, Law was smart enough to realize that language would probably get him killed if he ever tried to talk to Vergo like that, it still made her feel better thinking about the brute's reaction if he ever received her response.

She puts all the information she has obtained in the back of her mind for now. At the moment, she just wanted to forget where she was for a bit. Maybe going up on deck might help clear her mind. Sam always did want to chase the clouds on a ship.

* * *

A/N: Thank you guys for all the reviews, favorites, and follows. I'm glad people look forward to what I write.

On a side note, RL stuff is going to be happening soon and that's going to mess with my posting times. I thought I'd let you guys know in case you ever wonder what's happening with my schedule.

Next Chapter: What's A Little Drowning Between Friends?


	9. Drowning Amongst Friends

The fresh air that greets her as soon as she leaves the lower deck is greatly welcomed. The weather is cool and cloudy, but not enough to need a sweater. Sam ignores the looks she gets as she makes her way to the front of the boat. Of course, the boat has to be pink. Not that Sam has anything against the color, but there was such a thing as too much of one color. The flamingo as the head of the boat is just unnecessary.

Sam climbs up on the edge of the boat and she can see the largest stretch of ocean she has ever seen. It surprises her at just how large it all is, and just how tiny she is in comparison. The boat sails at a steady clip. Sam shoots her gaze upward to look at the clouds in the sky. The sky over the ocean seems even bigger than it did on land.

Kicking her legs against the side of the boat Sam lets her eyes wander back to the sea. The weights on her wrists seems even heavier. Could she? The only person she could view as being able to stop her was Law or Lao G. Lao is in the middle of playing cards with Jora on the main deck. She can feel his gaze on her, probably waiting for her to take the bait and jump. Then they would have reason to lock her up, the question she faces is 'to push the envelope or not to push the envelope?'

Sam can feel Law behind her watching her carefully. The Doc probably knew just how dangerous it is to have her sitting on the edge of the boat. After all, he is the one that treated the burn wounds from her attempt at blowing herself up in Edge Town. To jump or not to jump, that is the question.? Perhaps, the better option is to wait until the deck didn't have people that could restrain or save her. Yes, that's the better option. To not come off as suicidal until it is too late.

Putting her hands between her legs and holding on to the side of the boat, Sam leans back to look directly in Law's face. She's upside down and entirely too close for comfort, but she really didn't care all that much. But Law did, and she liked provoking a reaction out of him. She could tell by his smart ass comment of being an "insufferable bitch" that he could handle her sense of humor.

"Hey, Doc? You gonna stand there and look creepy all day; or are you going to get up here? You suppose to be my watchdog or something?" Sam asks. Law gives a look of utter disgust as he takes a large step back and glares at her for daring to enter his personal bubble.

"You should brush your teeth, your breath smells. Also, please do not get in my face." He rights the cute little hat he's wearing and straightens his button-down shirt. Sam smirks at the overly formal boy, but stays hanging upside down.

"Sorry, that wasn't in the slavery starter kit that you gave me. You should probably change that so there aren't future mistakes. In fact, personal hygiene products as well as tasteful clothing would be very much appreciated. Or, is that only for submissive slaves?" Sam mocks as she pulls herself up and sits upright. She can already hear Baby 5 storming over after the insult to her clothing.

"Are you calling my clothing tasteless? Who do you think you are?!" Her voice is high and annoying. The sound of it just makes her want to hit something. Preferably, Doflamingo, but it seemed like he fucked off to somewhere else. Probably wore himself out while planning world domination with his pink flamingo boat. Sam snorted at the thought and Baby 5 must have thought it was her she was laughing at because the next thing she knows is that she's being shoved into the open ocean.

After the initial shock of 'shit that's cold' and what the hell just happened, Sam wants to laugh because she didn't even need to jump. Sam can't swim, even if she wanted to, and she feels herself sinking. She hopes this will be the end of this nightmare she finds herself in, Sam couldn't stand the idea of being held captive for a second longer. It went against everything she was. Sam wasn't someone that could be kept in a cage. As the water fills her lungs, she sinks lower and lower. Her survival instincts are to hold her breath, but she inhales anyway. Blackness fills her sight and she can smile.

Sam's not sure how much time has passed but she is awakened by pounding on her chest and someone pinching her nose and breathing air into her lungs. Sam wants to cry, because it seems as if she was doomed to be saved. Sam chokes up the water in her lungs and breathes heavy breaths. Her nose and throat are on fire and feel raw. Her chest feels like her ribs were broken again and she just feels like total shit.

When she looks up its to meet a waterlogged Law and a frowning Corazon. As much as she loved the two in her old world, she wants to beat the shit out of them in this world for not letting her drown. Sam frowns and pushes them away as she rolls over and gets to her knees. The agony of her ribs has her slumping but she slowly gets to her feet.

"You shouldn't be walking. Let me check your ribs." He gets in her face and Sam pushes his face away with her palm. She really can't deal with seeing his face at the moment.

"Not everyone wants help, Doc. Some people just want the sea to swallow them whole. Some would even say that it's preferable to living. But what would a lowly slave like me know about that, I think I'm going to get some sleep. Where's Baby 5?" Sam asks as she forces herself to stay standing even as her ribs feel like they've been crushed by an elephant.

Law points his finger over to Jora who was screaming at the girl. She had a red cheek like she'd been slapped and that pissed Sam off. It reminded her too much of her time with the Outlooks and her brother getting slapped. That was just not okay in her book. Sam stumbles over even as her breath is a bit raspy and it felt like a dagger was stabbing her in her chest with each breath. The woman was raising her hand to slap her again and Sam catches it before it can connect.

"That's enough. It was an accident. Unfortunately, I'm still breathing. So, there's no need for this slapping stuff. Besides, what's a little drowning amongst friends?" Sam gives the woman a fake smile and she looks shocked as Sam still holds her wrist. She slowly lets go and turns to go below deck. She falls to her knees as something jabs hard in her torso. The patter of feet come running over and is holding her in place. She can feel the taste of blood in her mouth. She looks up and sees Law looking at her concerned.

"I suppose you won't just let me die right here, would you Doc? Maa, that would be a bit too lucky for me. Somehow, I doubt the pink menace would allow me to die either, he's becoming a real pain in the ass. You're right behind him with this life saving streak you're on with me." Her vision briefly goes black and she can hear Law shouting orders to the people around him. Kid was probably going to make her life a living hell by keeping her alive.

Waking up, Sam finds herself chained to the bed again and she can't find it in herself to properly rage. She feels heavily medicated and she looks around to see that Corazon is in the chair next to her bed. He seemed to have decided to take a nap, if the soft snoring she heard was anything to go by. She studies his face and notices underneath his make-up there are heavy bags under his eyes. From the frown on his face she can tell that he wasn't having pleasant dreams.

Sam looks away and stares at the ceiling. She wonders if this is going to be a thing where she's constantly injured. She's tired of being chained to a bed, but the less she has to do for Doflamingo, the better. She has no idea how long she's been on this ship and she doesn't really want to know. Knowing the amount of time that she's spent without her brothers would be like a punch in the stomach.

 _Purupurupuru_

Sam's brought out of her thoughts as an odd sound echoes through the room. Her eyes dart to the left of her bed where Corazon is sat. A snail that had a dial and a receiver on it is sat on her bedside table. It had to be the oddest thing that she had ever seen, and that's coming from a girl who grew up in Goa. Shaking her head, she continues to watch the ceiling. She can hear him go for the transponder snail, but after that there's no sound at all. Which was not all that unexpected due to his Calm-Calm Fruit abilities. Though why he would let that out to a total stranger is beyond her.

She turns her head when she hears movement. Corazon has his elbows propped on his knees and is looking at her intently. Sam says nothing as she looks back unimpressed at the analyzing look he was giving her. It steadily becomes more awkward until it's a full blown staring contest. Sam casually starts talking just to throw him off his game.

"Maa, has anyone ever told you that you have pretty eyes?" Sam smiles sweetly and the man flinches back at the comment. He blinks and looks slightly disturbed. Sam gives a bark of a laugh, but has to stop at the pain that pulses through her chest. She coughs and tries to stop breathing all together so she could stop the pain, but it's difficult. She can feel Corazon holding her body still. Sam regulates her breathing and calms her heart.

"I guess that was my prize for winning our staring contest, ne?" She looks up and sees a slight pout on his face and probably wants to contest her claim.

Sam knows this is the man that holds the key to her cuffs. He was her only hope of getting out of here before 16 years pass. Also, despite being a Marine, she knows he is a good person. Sam supposes that one minute where he paused, just before putting the bracelets on her wrists, did count for something in her mind. She also knew that the real asshole in this entire situation was Doflamingo.

"I totally won. You blinked, Clown Face." Sam announces eyeing the indignant look on his face. He blinks again and looks disbelieving. Probably wondering why he was arguing with a 6-year-old about a staring contest.

"How long am I chained here for? I don't like chains if you haven't noticed." Rosinante gives her a dry look as if an idiot could have spotted that. He takes out a pad and paper and starts to write.

 _Doing CPR on you displaced one of your ribs. Law fixed it. Law wants you to stay on bed rest for the foreseeable future. You're also on suicide watch, brother's orders.  
_  
Sam reads the note and doesn't hold back her eye roll.

"Like I said, even the option of death is taken away from me here. Your brother has to be the biggest asshole I've ever met. I have enough self-control not to just jump overboard with people on deck. Granted, Baby 5 did take out most of the leg work entailed with my original plan. Did she get punished, again? That was the last thing I wanted to happen." Sam asks as she moves to get comfortable but her ribs ached fiercely at the movement.

Corazon starts writing again, everything is quiet except for the scratching of pen on paper. She has to wonder if he had used his Devil Fruit powers around the room. The tearing of a sheet of paper draws her attention back to the man.

 _No, brother thinks you irritated her so she would push you off the boat._

"I'm not sure if I should take that as a compliment, that he thought that I could plan that far ahead, or irritated that I didn't think of that myself. Either way, that wasn't my original plan. The situation just kind of happened that way." Sam states as she stares at the note, a bit bemused that Doflamingo thought her that analytical.

While she was not a stupid person, a lot of the time Sam didn't really take into account other people's feelings. She often spoke without thinking and it landed her in trouble. Like telling a very dangerous man that she noticed his proclivity for the color pink. Or shouting at her shitty father for trying to force her into a marriage contract. Yeah, Sam wasn't the type to play mind games unless she had adequate time to plan. Even then, she ruined it with her big mouth.

The sound of ripping paper has her looking towards him once more. Corazon hands her the piece of paper. Sam takes it and reads it quietly.

 _I'm sorry._

He puts away the pad of paper and takes off his feathered coat. He pulls out a cigaret and lights it without setting himself on fire. Sam smiles as he's seemed to have taken her advice. She crumples the piece of paper and forces it back into Corazon's free hand. The questioning look he sends her is met with a smirk.

"Maa, wouldn't want big brother knowing you're feeling sorry for the slave. Keep it until you can take the bracelets off of me. Then, maybe, I can accept the apology. There something about you Clown-Face that's strange, but in a good way." Sam closes her eyes and can already feel the pull of sleep.

"Goodnight, Corazon." She murmurs into the silent room.

The next time she wakes up it's to a young girl watching her intently. Sam has to jerk her head back into her pillow a bit because 'wow' that is way too close. The yellow ribbon in her hair is slightly askew and her eyes are wide. Sam's ribs ache at the slight movement and fails to hold back her wince of pain.

"Are we friends?" The little girl asks and Sam wants to bang her head against a wall. This was so not what she was expecting when she opened her eyes this morning.

"No," Sam bluntly refuses any claims of friendship. She didn't want friends on this horrible little ship. Friends meant people who could hang around you and stop you from finding freedom. Making connections and bonds with her captors wasn't helpful when trying to make an escape. Whether that was by death or other means. She could never trust someone that was so loyal to Doflamingo. All her movements would be reported back to him, and that was the last thing she wanted.

"But, when you stopped Jora from slapping me, you said we were friends. So, that must mean you want to be my friend, right?" The wide eyed and hopeful smile twists something in her unpleasantly. She wants to blame it on her broken rib but she knows she sees a desperate little girl who's looking for a friend. She wants to know where the hell Buffalo is and why he isn't right next to the girl. Preferably, somewhere far, far away from Sam.

"No, that means I didn't want you getting slapped. I don't like it when adults slap kids. I was being sarcastic when I said the friend part." Sam announces as if that was the end of the conversation, and for her, it was. There was no need to go further on this nonsense of friendship. She had her brothers, and that was all she needed. Sam turns her head when she doesn't hear the door shut and sees that Baby 5 is crying.

Sam feels like a wretched bitch for making an already insecure girl cry. But, the escalating sobbing she does is unnecessarily loud and Sam winces at the high pitched wails. Her ribs are killing her and her head feels like it's going to explode. It's annoying and she just wants the noise to stop.

"Will you shut up!" Sam yells at the girl over her tears. A large sniff has the girl stopping and Sam places a hand over her eyes in exasperation. This girl was so high-maintenance it makes her want to cringe even thinking about the idea of friendship.

Sam doesn't make friends with just anyone. She was the type of person who had a few close friends and the rest of the human population was unimportant. Baby 5 wasn't her friend. She was loyal to Doflamingo. Sam wasn't about to try and change that to have it come back and bite her in the ass.

"Look, Baby 5 was it? See this from my point of view. I am a 6-year-old girl who's been taken from her home and everything she's known. I'm then put into chains that keep me from my only source of power. Next, I'm chained to a bed under the pretense of suicide watch. I don't trust anyone on this ship. I'm by myself fighting against a very powerful pirate. I hate being told what to do, and this situation is the equivalent of hell for me! So stop sobbing to me about me not being your friend. I got bigger things to deal with." Sam snaps. It's the truth, and she can't apologize for stating the truth.

She's tired of all of these overly emotional situations, she just wanted to spar with Sabo and Ace. To laugh at the stupid nobles they hoodwinked out of money. To gloat over who got the more treasure that day. To go hunting and laugh when one of them gets chased by their meal before they lend a hand. She misses her brother's, and doesn't want to be chained to a bed with a crying girl making her feel terrible. Sam's tired and she wants someone here to watch her back while she's asleep, instead of the light cat naps and stints of being unconscious that have so far sustained her.

She would never say it out loud, but she had been looking forward to meeting Luffy. The guy who wanted freedom as much as she did. Wasn't that why, in her last life, she actually paid attention to the damn show her nephew watched. To be childish and free, for cutting complex situations down to the simplest solutions. A place where she didn't have to worry about her parenting skills, and that she was potentially going to mess her nephew up for the future. That she wouldn't have to deliver illegal substances that helped kill people. She'd seen the effects of drugs on her mother, the last thing she wanted was for that to happen to another child. Living a life where all you had to do was worry about what adventure you had coming your way sounded nice, it hurt and it felt so unfair that the option was taken away from her. She felt like she had been robbed.

She had to find a way out of here soon, but what did she do when she was in such a situation? It was either bare her neck and become a part of this mafia like pirate group, or continue defying Doflamingo and be subjected to something more torturous than death itself. Either way she was screwed.

Going the torture route would probably end in her being an invalid for the rest of her life. Worse than death and not something that was conducive when wanting freedom. She would have to step on her pride to convince the man that she was more useful than just a slave. She would have to use her skill and talent for his goals. A part of her wailed and raged at even considering it after tasting the freedom she felt with her brothers. The voice in her head screamed that she was stupid and foolish for doing this, that she would regret it.

But she would regret it more if she was locked away somewhere with no contact but the pink feathery eye sore. If she lived, there was the possibility of seeing her brothers. Her heart jumped at the thought of hugging the both of them. Them telling her about their adventures, her bitching about this entire situation.

The love they all had for each other would never fade even with distance and time. They were bound together in some type of cosmic accident that left her here in this universe. Something or someone led her to this place for some reason. They had given her Sabo and Ace. It would be a waste if she screwed this all up because of her pride.

She was starting to feel determined to see her twin again, Ace, and meet Luffy. For that to happen she needed to follow her own fucking advice and live. No matter how much it hurt, and how many memories it brought back she would do it for them. Just like she kept going for her nephew, she would do the same for her brothers and a dream.

Sam let out a shuddering breath and opened her eyes, which she hadn't known she closed, to see Baby 5 and Law looking at her concerned. A cold hand felt her forehead and Sam slapped it away and looked straight at Law.

"Can you get me Captain Donquixote, I have a proposition for him." Sam set her mouth in a grim line. This was just the beginning of her journey. She would fight again, she couldn't let him win. This was her resolve and she would see it through, if she could give him a few headaches along the way, all the better.

* * *

AN: Thank you for the reviews, favorites, and follows. It's nice knowing that people like what I write.

Side Note: I'll try to have the next chapter out by Monday night. Though, real life is going to be hitting me like a semi-truck that day, so don't quote me on that.

Next Chapter: Sam Makes A Deal with a Flamingo


	10. Sam Makes A Deal with a Flamingo

As soon as the grinning bastard entered the room Sam had to stop herself from snapping out a snarky retort about which bird he had to rob to make his pink feather coat. The scraping of wood against wood has her looking up and seeing that the man was sitting backward in the wooden chair next to her bed. His chin propped on his crossed arms. Sam grits her teeth and looks away from the condescending grin on his face.

"So, Samantha, what's this I hear about a proposal? I have to admit, you're awfully confident for being the one in handcuffs. Is that your noble blood coming out, or are you just that self assured? Regardless, I'm sure it's nothing less than spectacular coming from a girl who seemed to have eluded one of my best officers for two years." She thinks she can hear a slight bitterness in that retort, but she lets it go. She has bigger fish to fry than to mock Doflamingo and his underlings incompetence. Sam takes a breath and closes her eyes to focus and to force the disgusting words past her lips.

"I want the cuffs gone. I'll aid you in reaching your goals, despite how unwilling I am about this entire situation. I won't run or use my devil fruit abilities against your family. I will not directly defy you." Sam could feel her nails biting into her skin as every word she spoke was the equivalent to another chain that restricted her freedom.

"I'm sure this was your plan from the start. I'm sure you also know just how distasteful I find this entire proposition. But, the longer the cuffs stay on the more defiant I'll become at the lack of freedom. You have me right where you want me." Sam clenches her jaw at how close it came to groveling. Her entire being wanted her to take back every single word she spoke. But her new resolve to see her brothers again kept her from telling him to go fuck himself. His deep echoing laughter had a feeling of humiliation stirring inside herself.

"What a wonderful proposition, I knew you'd come around, Sam. The only problem is, I want to test your resolve for working with the Donquixote Pirates. You take my mark," Sam felt physically sick at the thought of being branded like cattle. She wanted to scream and tell him that he was a twisted bastard. That she wasn't a damn tree that he could piss on to mark it as his. She clenches her jaw even tighter and feels the pain in her teeth at the grinding that accompanies it. Sam gives a sharp nod. It was just like prison tats. She would live. Didn't Nami wear Arlong's mark and then alter it? She could alter it, this was only temporary. This entire thing was only temporary until she could see her brother's again.

"Perfect, I'll have Corazon bring the materials." He announces as he gets up and leaves the room. Sam feels a flash of fear shoot through her body at the thought of doing this right now and not in like, say, a week. He was really putting the screws to her and he knew how to push to get what he wanted. He knew she would never be fully compliant and loyal.

She was spiteful and would work against him in indirect ways, but it was more useful to have an able body, spiteful, devil fruit user slave than a invalid broken slave. He would watch her closely but he would eventually have to put his attention elsewhere and it would be her opportunity. She would only have one chance though, after that it was going to be a cell for her.

She feels her mind go blank at the pure fear that races through her body when the door squeaks open slowly. Sam slams her eyes shut and holds back the mad ravings that want to spill from her lips. The scrape of a chair against wood close to her bed has her breath stopping as she realizes just how deep she's getting into this entire world. Sam forces herself to breathe, because it's the only thing she can do, she opens her eyes and faces the monster that is determined to make her life a living hell. Instead, she's faced with a glowering Corazon sitting in the chair next to the bed. Corazon holds up a piece of paper to her that reads, "hold still, brat."

Doflamingo stands in the corner grinning like he's won the jackpot. Sam wants to tell him he looks ridiculous and should get his creepy smile fixed. But she stays silent and looks away as Corazon sets up the materials for herself imposed chains. Something that would last a lifetime and was indelible. She looks at the small room she's in and can't quite process that this is her life right now. That she's been brought so low as to actually take this man's mark.

But she remembers the adorable gap tooth grin her brother would send her every time he accomplished something new. The ill hidden humor at her violent tendencies and explosive antics. Him curling into her side when sleeping at night. The tight hugs he gave when he was scared. She remembers Ace, the hard-headed kid that he is, always biting at the bit for a fight. Always pushing himself that much farther. Encouraging both Sabo and herself to move faster, dodge quicker, to fight harder and longer. The reluctant fondness he held for the both of them. Curling up next to Sabo when he stayed the night. The playful tugs to her hair and small smiles he gave in those moments of peace they had together. Those were the memories she was doing this for, she wanted more of those memories. She was a greedy girl, and she wanted her brothers back.

So, she firms her jaw and looks away as the machine starts buzzing. The pain was minimal on the meat of her upper arm. Her mind is instead flooded with memories of her brothers the entire time she's under the needle. Yet, at the same time it seems like forever before the machine shuts off. Her ears ring in the deafening silence at the absence of noise once he's finished. She feels a final swipe of a cloth against her arm. Sam looks down at her right upper arm and sees that stupid grinning face tattooed there in pitch black ink. Her skin still red from residual blood and inflammation. But she knows it will stand out starkly against her pale white skin once it heals. She wants to claw her arm off and beat the bastard with it. All she can do is stare in disgust at the ink that now marks her body.

"Why'd you do it?" She's drawn from her anger to look at Corazon who was puffing away on a cigarette. The room was empty and the silence was almost unnatural. Sam raises her eyebrow at the talking man. Wasn't he supposed to be playing the role of a mute?

"Why'd I do what?" Sam asks back as she glances longingly at the cigarette he holds. Fuck, what she wouldn't give to have one of those right now or a couple shots of vodka. Even if this body doesn't have the physical cravings her last did she can remember how good she felt every time she had a cigarette or indulged by drinking herself into a stupor. Not that the morning after getting herself smashed was roses, but that one moment where she didn't have to think about anything was the best. Sam likes to think if she can get branded, she can smoke a cigarette or go on a bender.

"Why'd you give in so easily, you seemed stronger than that?" He asks as he takes another drag of his cigarette. Sam wants to tell him to shut his dirty rotten mouth, that she would never just give in. It wasn't in her nature, perhaps that was the reason why she was chosen for this whole ordeal. Her drive and passion had always kept her going, her dream of being free.

"In order to survive, you sometimes need to be willing to bend and not break. Continued defiance against him would have only ended in me being disabled and unable to escape. I find that I would like to make my way home at some point. I have things that weren't tied up, so to speak, when I was kidnapped. I had a life, you know." Sam responds looking away from the tempting nicotine. Perhaps it was also to hide herself from his analyzing gaze.

"You have a twin, don't you?" Corazon asks as he taps the ash off the cigarette. Sam nose twitches at him knowing such sensitive information. Everyone assumed she was Sabo while chasing her down, no one questioned where he was once they caught her. She didn't want them asking either in case they got any ideas of getting leverage on her. Sam lies, because when it came to her brother's safety nothing was too safe.

"No, he died in a fire." Sam responds blankly. Corazon gives a small laugh and leans over to put his elbows on his knees.

"You suck at lying. You're a bit too blunt to be a truly good liar." He takes another drag of his cigarette and blows the smoke away from her face. Sam's grateful for him not actively trying to tempt her to give herself lung cancer. Was that even a thing in this universe? Sam shrugs at the slight about her lying prowess. Her arm was aching and it makes her want to punch that pink idiot.

"I will always protect my twin. I'm the older one of the two of us. I'm supposed to be there making sure he doesn't get up to too much mischief. I'm supposed to be pulling him out of those ridiculous situations he finds himself in when he tries to hunt something 5 times his size. I'm supposed to be making sure that he's eating more than just meat, even if it means sitting on him and not getting off until he does. I'm supposed to be there for my little brother, yet here I am catering to Do-fucking-flamingo. I've never wanted to shoot someone more than him. Now, get these damn cuffs off me, I think I sufficiently filled the position of branded slave." Sam snarks as she shifts uncomfortably in the bed. The jingling of keys echoes through the room. Sam drops her gaze to the gaudy cuffs that decorate her wrists.

She watches as Corazon removes the cuffs and surprisingly she feels no relief. She guesses she shouldn't be so surprised, she was still branded like cattle. Sam suppresses the tears that form at the corner of her eyes. Bringing a finger to her lips she summons one of her clones. She knows the moment she sees its face it was a bad idea.

"You disgust me, where is your pride! You let him mark us!" The clone shouts at her and Sam looks down at the clone's arm and sees the exact copy of the tattoo that marks her body. Something close to self-hatred fills her chest but she refuses to regret the choice of wanting to see her brothers again.

"I did it for them. I'm a selfish bitch and I want to make sure they're all right. I think I want to live, I need to follow my own advice and live even when every inch of me wants to die. I can't just leave them behind like I did. When I put myself in their shoes and if I was watching Sabo die I know something inside me would break. I can't brake Sabo. That's not an option. If we want to survive this we can't be at war with ourselves. We come to the agreement that we have to listen to the shitty pink bastard to a point. But that's no reason to be subservient." Sam's not sure why she's trying to talk her clone down when it's essentially her that she's talking down. Maybe it was like a twisted imitation of self-help?

She looks over at Corazon who was now leaning back in his seat watching the entire spectacle, puffing away on what she assumes is his second cigarette. She doesn't blame him, Doflamingo would drive most people to drink. Sam's sure it's only because he's his brother that he only smokes. But what's to say that he doesn't drink in his off time?

"You're one strange, strange little girl Samantha," He squints his eyes a little as he gets both of their attention. The clone puts her arms on her hips and pouts. Sam just lays there tiredly wondering if she could sleep and have her clone watch her back for a bit. Can her power work that way? She should probably experiment more. Also, she needed to get physically stronger. But she knows that won't be happening today.

"Are you not a little strange yourself? That clown make-up practically screams that 'I'm a murderer in my free time, please let me kill you slowly and painfully while I laugh maniacally.' Or, am I confusing you with your boss?" The clone sneers and she can see Corazon flinch at her harsh words. She always did think that her clones were too mouthy for their own good. Sam rolls her eyes and releases the clone before it can do any physical damage. She's sure it's caused enough psychological damage for the both of them. Then there's that awkward moment when you realize that clone is you and it's basically you saying that. Can you mentally scar yourself?

"Don't mock my clones, they're homicidal on good days. The last thing I want is one rampaging through the boat." Corazon scratches the top of his nose and narrows his eyes skeptically. Sam decides that the ins and outs of her power are sometimes better left undiscovered. She doesn't want to put to the test if it was really possible to inflict mental damage to yourself.

"But aren't you essentially cloning yourself? Can't you tell it what to do?" Sam sighs and shakes her head at his simple yet complicated question. The fact was, Sam was still learning it herself. She didn't know much about it besides that she could clone and or multiply stuff. Like with her hormone levels where she doubled her testosterone in her body. She could clone herself and others. She could also clone anything she could touch excluding water. She hadn't really had the time to go in depth, because trying to find food every day, steal from nobles, monitor her brothers, and bandage everyone up when they were hurt took time.

She supposes that she would now have time that she could get a proper meal without having to hunt, skin, and cook her meat. She wouldn't have to constantly disinfect, stitch, and bandage her brothers. She had no Sabo or Ace to distract her with their antics. Nor did she have to come up with plans to scam nobles. She was looking at a lot of time on her hands. Sam realizes she hasn't answered Corazon's question when she hears the clearing of a throat.

"In what reality do you think telling me to do anything I didn't want to do would end positively? Yes, they're clones, but they have my personality, memories, and my behavioral patterns. Though, I do think it has limits with impulse control. But, the point is that I hate being bossed around. The situation I'm in right now is probably the worst you could ever put me in, it is in my nature to be rebellious." Sam explains as she grabs the gauze on the bedside table and wraps the disgusting mark.

"But, you made the clone. How can't you tell it what to do? Isn't it part of you?" Sam winces as the pain of the tattoo aches and it irritates her enough that she just wraps the mark even tighter to take out her anger without having to ask for a gun to blow a hole in the birdbrained menace.

"Yes, its part of me. But, when I clone something it's the exact copy of whatever I'm cloning. I have no control beyond that. It's a separate entity once I am not touching it. I have no influence after that. My power is almost all touch based, I can get away with altering my body because I am in essence a multiplier. There is my field of manipulation which is the distance at which I can hold a multiplication before it dispels. Even with that, once the copy leaves my person it is unchanging until I dispel it, drop the original item, or it leaves my range." Sam states and wonders why the hell she's explaining her power to the enemy.

Perhaps, it's in hopes that he explains it to his brother. That way she doesn't have the unfortunate fate of talking to the pink pig himself. Corazon leans forward and looks completely fascinated and it makes her mildly uncomfortable because she's never really had to explain it in depth before, she knew it would go right over her brothers' head. They both knew she could make more of stuff and that's it. That was all they really needed to know to figure out how to work it into their plots.

"What about other people? What can you do to the people around you?" He crosses his legs and leans back, probably taking note at how uncomfortable his interest was making her. Sam sighs and scratches her head as she thinks of an adequate way to explain this.

"Yes, I can clone other people by touching them. I can only manipulate fluids I can actually touch on other people, though. Take blood for instance, that I can multiply the amount of white blood cells a person has if I'm touching the blood near an open wound. But, I have to be in constant contact with the person to control a cellular structure. Which is, admittedly, really gross but really helpful if you have an infection. I've mainly focused on multiplying precise things out of survival sake." Sam admits a bit restlessly; all the talking is making her a bit irritable. She's still not sure about her entire power. She was constantly coming up with new facets of her ability. It changed as she grew and experimented with it.

"What about the homicidal behavior you described before? Have you come up with an explanation for that?" Corazon asks as he lights up a third cigarette and she has to wonder where the hell the second one disappeared to.

"The behavior of my clones? Well, they're an exact copy of me with my similar opinions and temperament. But, they can think independently of me and act independently if they wanted because I'm not touching them. They don't like that I have the ability to dispel them if they don't listen. I couldn't say, clone somebody, and tell them what to do. There has to be an inclination to listen to me or it will just do whatever it wants. It's a weakness in my power. The only surefire way to use clones is to clone myself. The reason being, they are me and I know what I'm planning. They are willing to follow directions when I have them. Otherwise, it's madness, and just plain masochism, if I'm not facing imminent death or destruction they will give me hell." Corazon taps the ash from his cigarette to the floor and Sam had to scrunch her nose up to that because she knew with her luck she'd be stepping in it as soon as she got out of bed.

"You're quite smart, aren't you, Samantha? Extraordinarily smart for a six-year-old. Doflamingo is right to be watching you. You could grow to be extremely dangerous with a mind and power like yours. But something tells me that you could care less about that power and you use it as a tool to protect your brothers." Sam frowns at how he assumes there is more than one brother but lets it go because he doesn't know a name. Besides, there wasn't much she could do about it at the moment. She's also a bit worried about how much she's giving away. It never really occurred to her not to be intelligent with pirates.

"It's not like it was my idea to eat the nasty fruit, but I can't deny it wasn't a bonus. My shitty father was the one to slip me it like a roofie with my steamed vegetables. The rest is just my charming personality." Sam gave him a deadpan look. Corazon smiled around his cigarette at her poor attempt at humor.

"I think you're smart enough, Samantha, to know when to keep your mouth shut about things that shouldn't be talked about. Unpleasant things happen when you blab carelessly. I think that your observant enough to understand what I am saying." Sam narrows her eyes and purses her lips in thought. She understands clearly what he is saying. That it would be best for her to keep silent about him being able to talk. That the only reason he was talking to her now was because she knew when to shut her mouth and read a room. Doflamingo was to know nothing about this conversation. Yeah, she read him loud and clear. But, she was a girl with some needs.

"Can I extort you into getting me clothes that I actually like? I feel like a maid wearing this get up. I want my jean overall shorts and a black tank. Pretty simple, but it would make me feel a bit more human. A flask of booze wouldn't be amiss either, that man drives even the strongest of people to drink, I'm sure." Sam asks hopefully as she eyes him expectantly. Corazon's mouth hangs open and the cigarette in his mouth falls to the floor. His eyes are popping out of his head and he just stares. Sam is shameless and stares back expectantly. His jaw opens and shuts a few times before he can form words.

But what comes out isn't words, more like barking laughter that makes Sam smile for some unknown reason. Perhaps it is just the joy of hearing someone laugh genuinely. Not the mocking laughter of Doflamingo.

"Yeah, he has a tendency to do that. But it's a firm no on the booze, wait until you're a bit older. It'd cause more problems for you at this point. Just try to survive this for the next couple years and I'll buy you a beer at the nearest bar. I'll see what I can do about your clothes at the next island, though. I agree, the maid look isn't working for you. You're too much of a smart ass for that." He ruffles her hair and shoves her head to the side. Sam slaps his hand away and scowls. He chuckles before he snaps his fingers and his face goes back to the brooding grumpy look he always wears.

"You look better when you smile, clown face." Sam murmurs as she lays back into her pillow. A soft snort is her answer as the door shuts with a soft thud.

Sam's unsure as to what just happened and if she just bonded with Donquixote Rosinante. But she feels like she made the right decision to let him in a bit, even if he was related to the feathery pink bastard. She knew it wasn't his fault that he had to share DNA with the ass. Shaking her head to rid herself of those bizarre thoughts, Sam drifts into a restless slumber.

She knows that the path she has chosen isn't the easy or possibly even right road. But if you're going to do it, do it resolutely. That was something that echoed with her from the _One Piece_ series. If you're going to choose to do something stand by that choice, no matter the consequences.

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews, favorites, and follows they mean a lot to me. I like knowing you like what I write.

Side Note: Sorry about the wait. I attend university, and my free time will be eaten up for the next couple months. I'll update when I can but there will be periods where I just can't make time to write this. I don't want to rush this story either. I'm actually really happy about what I have planned, I just need to find the time to write it all out.

Next Chapter (tentative): Sabo, What the hell is going on?


	11. What's Your Real Name

Sam seriously questions her sanity sometimes. Not because she routinely fights with clones of herself, not because she has memories of another life, not even because she has a mystical bullshit power. No, Sam question her mental stability because every time she has to endure Trebol she wants a refund on her whole deal with Doflamingo. No one had the right to be that annoying and still have the option to live.

"Ne Ne, Sam. What are you doing? Why do you look so suspicious, Sam. Ne Ne, would Doffy like that you're messing around with guns?" Sam clenches her teeth and forcibly blocks out the nasally voice that threatens her self-control. She continues cleaning one of the pistols she's found in one of the crates they were transporting. She could care less if it messes with the order; it was a nice gun and she was keeping it.

"Ne Ne, Sam. Why are you ignoring me? Should I tell Doffy your plotting against the family? Ne Ne, Sam. Are you going to answer me?" He's over her shoulder now, and she can feel the mucus he excretes touch her bare shoulder. Sam finishes reassembling her gun and loads it.

"Trebol, I can say with all honesty that you would do the world a huge favor by just killing yourself. Also, what the hell have I said about respecting my personal bubble, you snotty bastard. You seriously need lessons in what is considered sexual harassment, now back the fuck out of my space." The rant starts off slow, but builds in a crescendo when he just doesn't move from her personal space.

"Ne Ne, Sam! You're so mean! Neh Heh Heh Heh Heh! Doffy won't be happy that you're starting fights with the Executives." She can hear the shlop of mucus as he moves. Sam pinches the bridge of her nose and wonders which gods she pissed off that she is forced to deal with Trebol. Then she realizes the stupidity of that thought and wants to scream. She was a killer in her past life and she was being forced to be a killer in this life. Of course, she pissed off a few deities along the way.

"Shitty boss could care less if I pick a fight with you guys. You're perfectly capable of dealing with a seven-year-old. Now, get the fuck out of my space you creep!" Sam shouts and she knows that he's going to keep riling her up until she actually shoots at him. Then Doflamingo would have carte blanche to punish her. After a year of sailing under the Donquixote jolly roger she knew a thing or two about the crew.

Everyone knew Sam had a temper. If you riled her up enough it would explode in a terrifying fashion that would earn her the punishment of losing all control over her body. It was the worst punishment ever for Sam. She literally had no control and was reduced to be a string puppet for her shitty boss for the foreseeable future. Eventually, she wouldn't be able to take it anymore and would have to apologize. Doflamingo was a sick bastard, and she had her suspicions that he would tell the crew to make her angry just so he could control her.

Law and Corazon refrained from purposefully trying to get her to attack them. They knew she had enough to deal with and didn't need their bullshit along with everyone else's. She was starting to control her anger slowly but surely. But there were times where she just wanted everybody on this entire ship to die in a painfully slow manner. This was one of those times.

Sabo and her's birthday was coming up. It marked another year without her brother by her side. Another year of her life wasted on the sorry excuse of a human being name Doflamingo. Time that she would never be able to get back.

Sam stormed away from Trebol, locking her anger away for training with Lao G. At least she could punch somebody without getting in trouble. Not that it was often that she could land a punch on the strong man, but when she did it felt like a little bit of stress had fallen away for the smallest of moments.

Sam is brought out of her violent thoughts by her running into a slightly larger body. She falls on her ass and she refrains from shooting the asshole who thought they could block her way. She looks up and realizes it's Law who is standing over her. Her anger slowly bleeds away and is replace a hollow feeling of calm.

"They're trying to make you attack them again, aren't they?" It isn't really a question they both know what's happening in this pirate crew. Doflamingo is a means to an end for Law. She can already see the white patches of White Lead's Disease overtake his face. He knows his time is limited as well.

"You need to control yourself better, gun freak." Sam scowls and defensively crosses her arms. She knows he's right but despite having older memories, her younger body was really the one in control and that meant mood swings and lashing out at the unfairness of life.

"Shut it, fluff head. I know I need more control. It just doesn't come easy is all. 'Sides when was the last time you didn't wish that Trebol would curl up into a corner and die. The man needs a hobby besides harassing a seven-year-old. I can think of so many more productive things he could be doing." Sam argues her case as she gets up off the floor. Law starts walking and Sam follows behind him. She can already tell they're headed for the medical bay.

"Your argument is a strong one, but you didn't consider the level of intelligence involved in realizing that riling a seven-year-old up is time better spent elsewhere. Yes, Trebol is an Executive, but he also has a sadistic streak that he satisfies by tormenting you and thusly having Doflamingo effectively possess control of your person." Sam laces her fingers behind her head and tries to sort through the overly wordy speech Law has treated her to. It's a few minutes before it all clicks.

"So basically, you're calling him a sadistic idiot that gets his jollies by picking on me. Maa, Law, you could've just said that. No need to go all wordsmith on me." Sam nods her head ignoring the painfully loud eye roll and sigh that Law lets loose. She looks over to see him adjusting his cute little hat and goes about treating some of the nameless cabin boys that take care of less important stuff.

"Your grasp on language never ceases to surprise me, Sam. Truly, it takes my breath away at how you can make a simple statement sound so vulgar." Like always, she purposely misses the point. Sam unlocks her fingers from behind her head, and She shoves one hand in her pocket, leaving the other one to scratch at her head.

"Hey, Doc. There's no need to go and complement me. Honest, it's just a matter of breaking it down and making it understandable for the common person. I'm doing what any hard-working semi-slave would do." She ducks her head to hide the sly grin that crawls across her face. She glances up to see a pained grimace scrunch up his features and he holds the bridge of his nose.

"No, just no." Sam lets out a laugh as she watches as Law walks away. She slowly curtails her laughter and starts wandering the ship. They're supposed to be landing in Spider Miles in a few hours to pick up a new shipment of weapons.

Sam pulls a sucker out of her pocket and unwraps it. The movement is a practiced one. Sam found that having something to do with her mouth or hands calmed her. She pops the sucker in her mouth and continues on her way.

She could remember how she picked up the habit. It had been just a few days after taking Doflamingo's mark. Corazon had shown up to her room bearing gifts and massive amounts of snark.

[Flashback]

Sam got up and opened the door to her room after she heard the knocking. Law told her to stay in bed or he would strap her to the bed. Sam would like to see the little brat try. One control freak was enough for Sam. When the door opens she's greeted with the sight of Corazon with clothes folded in his arms and a package of suckers. He has a stupid smile on his face and Sam narrows her eyes suspiciously. She ignores her instinct to shut the door and go back to bed in order to preserve what little of her sanity was left.

Corazon walks in uninvited and gently pushes Sam to the side. She closes the door behind him and watches as he takes a seat on the end of the bed. He snaps his fingers and announces "Silencio."

"What are you doing here? Don't you have puppies to kill or something?" Sam asks dryly as she gets back under the covers. It's chilly and she wants to curl up into a little ball but her ribs won't allow for it.

"I'm hurt, Sam. I'm just fulfilling my end of the bargain and then some!" The glint in his eyes warns her of potential mischief that's in store for her.

"I see, so you got me my clothes?" Sam asks as she adjusts her blanket so it covers her shoulders.

"Aye, I couldn't find exactly what you were looking for but it's close enough until we get to the next island. Most of its from Law's clothes but it will do in a pinch." He precedes to pull out a white dress shirt and dark gray dress trousers. The suspenders have her raising her eyebrows though. But the more she thinks about it the more she realizes that she would need them to keep the slacks up on her small frame and would have to roll up the legs so she didn't trip. She nods her head in understanding. She's sufficiently pleased at what he's found.

"What's with the suckers though?" A smirk pulls at the edges of his painted lips. He pulls out a cigarette and lights it. He's successful in not setting himself on fire this time.

"They're root beer, the closest thing you're getting to alcohol for the next couple years." Sam scowls and kicks his leg with her foot. It barely makes contact and it makes her frown even harder.

"Fuck you too, Corazon." Despite her aggravation she still opens the bag of suckers and plucks one out. Unwrapping it and popping it into her mouth she can admit to herself that it's a better option than the cigarettes she's been craving. She pulls another one out and throws it a Corazon's head, nearly catching him in the eye. She flicks her sucker to the side of her mouth and send him a wry grin.

"Thanks, Clown Face." He laughs and nods in acceptance.

[End Flashback]

"Clown face should learn some manners," Sam murmurs as she chews on the stick of her already finished sucker.

"I see land ahead!" A shout from the crow's nest echoes through the boat. Sam sighs and spits her sucker stick out, idly hoping that it gets stuck to the bottom of Doflamingo's shoe. Hurried steps reverberate around her as they start altering the rigging of the ship. Sam grabs her bag from her room that carries all of her worldly possessions.

She ignores everyone else and crawls down the ladder to the dock. It's always awkward after being on the ship for so long. Her legs felt weak and the muscles automatically started to tense and release waiting to rebalance herself with the movement of the ocean. But it's still nice to be on land again and not being confined in a place where she hated everyone except for two people.

Wandering around she realizes she skipped lunch while trying to avoid Trebol. She eyes the ice cream stand with hungry eyes. A chocolate ice cream cone is practically calling her name, and who is she to deny herself one of the few things she enjoys. Sam pulls out a beri from her pocket and clones it until she has enough to pay. She has expanded her field of multiplication by a fair amount and can safely multiply money and not get caught. But still she has to be careful.

"Hello, little girl. What can I get you today?" Sam points at the picture of a chocolate ice cream cone. She can hear her bitch of a not-mother screaming at her to use her words. But Sam doesn't feel like talking.

"Ah, chocolate. Good choice, good choice," the man compliments her and she's starting to feel uncomfortable with just conning the man out of his due payment. Sam sighs to herself and pulls out the required beri's and pays for the ice cream like a regular person. She walks away slightly disappointed that she didn't get to play around with her powers.

Sam soon finds herself sitting at a fountain eating her ice cream. She doesn't really think about anything, it was one of the rare times that her mind was silenced. But that peace is soon obliterated by Law, Buffalo, and Baby 5 bickering about Law's real name. Sam stays quiet as she eavesdrops on the trio.

"We told you our real names!" Baby 5 exclaimed as they walked down the boulevard. Sam's nose twitches. Baby 5's clingy personality still gave her the creeps. She sort of felt bad for Sai, but not really, because it was funny when it wasn't happening to her.

"So? I'm not interested!" Law snaps and crosses his arms defensively against the peer pressure of the two kids. She'll have fun mocking him later.

"You're so uncool! You're no fun!" Baby 5 complains at the lack of information that comes from Law. Not that she can blame him. Sam had been less than forthcoming about her last name as well as her past with the other members. Sam takes a lick of her dripping ice cream cone and continues to listen. She's not sure whether she should intervene or not because this was vital for the plot. For the moment she doesn't feel like she should make her presence known.

"Even if I have fun, I'll still die anyway." Sam clenches her jaw and purses her lips. It hurts for him to say that, she had grown attached to Law and his little socially awkward self. The kid had a fire in him. It drew Sam in with its ferocity, it was a dangerous fire that would burn you if you got too close too fast. It was the type of fire that could lead armies if coaxed right and that scared her. That a sick thirteen-year-old already carried that amount of charisma so close underneath his skin. What the fuck would she do if she ever met Monkey D. Luffy? Was it the will of D. that was so often eluded to?

"You have quite a lot of white parts now." Sam is drawn from her twisting and swirling thoughts by the ever blunt and insensitive Baby 5. She wants to punch the girl in the face for voicing her own concerns. Sam was constantly worried that her presence had caused too many changes. That Law might never get the Op-Op no mi. The thought of that happening was unthinkable.

"I don't know if I can live another year. I may die sooner than I calculated." Sam wishes that she could tell him to shut his damn fool mouth. She wishes there was some way to get her hands on the fruit without the drama that he and Corazon had to go through. But she knows that it's important to their relationship. She wonders if she would get a chance to save Corazon. Would he even want to bring Sam along with him and Law? She would like to pay him back for making her life more bearable.

"That aside, if you have a real name, tell us- dasuyan! Or I'll tell the young master you stabbed Cora-san two years ago." Sam's attention is once again pulled away from her thoughts. She narrows her eyes and she would rather shoot Buffalo in the head with her BB gun before he got the chance to go to Doflamingo. Law had enough on his plate without his special brand of idiocy getting in the way.

"Yeah we will." Baby 5 echoes Buffalo's previous statement and she knows she's going to have to keep a close watch on the two of them and restrain them if necessary. Her reaction time and coordinated fighting had gotten better in the two years that she stayed with the Donquixote Pirates. Not that she would ever admit that to anyone.

She had even figured out things that she previously thought impossible by watching Doflamingo mess around with his devil fruit. She found out things that would have Doflamingo frothing at the mouth if he ever found out.

"Trafalgar D. Water Law," Sam's attention is snapped back to the present as she watches Law reveal his true name. Now that she thinks about it, she sees Corazon standing across the street in his black feathered cloak. But, she can't tell where his eyes are at. His sunglasses blocking her view of his eyes.

"Huh?" Both Buffalo and Baby 5 look completely bewildered. Well, they did ask.

"I shouldn't tell that name to anyone, actually. I don't go by a code name like you two so it's just a little longer "D." is a secret name. Water is a true name. For generations my family-" Law goes on completely ignoring the disinterested faces of both kids. Baby 5 is the one that seems to break the seriousness of Law's explanation. Which was kind of irritating because Sam was interested in the history behind hiding the secret name.

"How boring! This is no fun at all" "Yeah- dasuyan" Buffalo agrees with Baby 5 and Sam has to roll her eyes at the childishness of it all. The twitching of Law's eyebrow is all Sam needs to see to know that he was about send Baby 5 into a fit of tears.

Sam licks the ice cream from her fingers and pushes off from the fountain. She notices that Corazon does the same and walks straight of Law. Sam decides that she should pack provisions in case Corazon does think to bring her along with them on their little journey.

Either way, she's leaving as soon as they're at the next destination. She's done her time with her shitty boss. It was time for her own adventure. That meant eventually making her way back to her brothers before they turned 17. She would do so, even if it was the last thing she did.

"You guys asked me repeatedly!" Law shouts at Baby 5. Like she predicted, it sends her into a round of tears and Sam rolls her eyes at the routine of it all. She didn't know why Baby 5 would provoke Law if she already knew the result. Sam watches as Corazon swoops in and pick's Law up like a mama cat would its kitten. She has to smile a bit at the image. Law would be just fine for the time being.

* * *

A/N: Ehh, no comment? But seriously, thank you guys for having patience. This chapter is a little rough around the edges because of lack of time for editing. Like I said, my schedule is packed and college needs all my time and energy. I'll try to post on the 1st of each month until we hit December where I'll have more time because of break. I still might add a chapter before this to have more character development.

Thank you for the reviews, follows, and favorites they tell me I'm at least keeping your interest.


	12. Let's Start an Adventure

"Corazon, if you wanted me to come with you, all you had to do was ask. The rope binds were a bit much…" Sam hedges as she lays like a dead fish over his shoulder. The downpour of rain already soaking her clothing and making her pants extremely uncomfortable. She can see Law in the same position, but he's pretty much dead to the world at the moment. She suspects that Corazon probably sedated him.

"When have you ever listened to anything I had to say? I thought I'd skip the daily dose of sass and get a move on. We're on a time schedule, brat." Sam rolls her eyes and huffs. But she immediately regrets it. All the blood that has rushed to her head from hanging over Corazon's shoulder pulses painfully.

"Say it isn't so, Clown-Face. Do you, perhaps, find me intimidating? Are the rope binds an effort to protect your ego?" Sam mocks him, like hell she would ever not sass him.

"Sam, you still intimidate the cabin boys. Last time I checked, you sent three to the med bay for being too loud. Not only am I protecting my ego, but the ego of all the cabin boys out there." Corazon responds dryly as he jumps into a Marine Rescue boat. Sam lets out a pained oomph as he drops her and Law to the floor of the boat.

"Not my fault they're a bunch of wussies." Sam groans out as she lays there with a knocked-out Law. Too tired to attempt moving. The slap to the back of the head was expected as well as the exasperated sigh at her refusal to curb her language. Sam rolls over and sits up to see that the boat is packed with provisions as well as her single duffle bag.

"Watch your language, brat." Corazon grunts as he unties the rescue boat from the Donquixote pirates boat and pushes off with one foot. The cannon fire from Tsuru still echoes loudly around them. As soon as they are sailing away Corazon cuts her ropes off. She can't help but breathe a sigh of relief. Not only at the ropes being gone, but also being away from Doflamingo's stifling presence.

This meant no more time spent being a marionette. No more time dodging Trebol, or being looked at under suspicious beady eyes, or getting her ass handed to her by Lao G, or Jora bitching about Sam being too masculine because she hated wearing dresses.

Sam's thoughts of freedom are interrupted by an oar being shoved into her face, and Sam takes it from Corazon. Message received, ass hat. Sam starts rowing with him as the rain beats down on them in a massive down pour. She's not sure how the books he brought will survive but she hopes for the best. It feels like hours before the rain trails off into a soft shower. Law is still dead to the world and Sam feels like a drown rat.

They have nothing that she can wipe her face with and a mix of sweat, salt water, and rain falls into her eyes causing them to burn. Her nose is dripping with snot and she felt like shit. Corazon looked no better. They both just sit there panting and looking at Law. They both know that this is nothing compared to what he's gone through. When her racing heart finally seems to calm down, she finds herself asking Corazon a question.

"Why did you bring me?" Sam asks and carefully avoids all eye contact with him. She's still not good at emotions and fails regularly to operate as a socially functional human being. Her conversation habits have dissolved considerably since being around pirates she hates. Her language was riddled with profanity that would make a pirate blush and demand she wash her mouth out with a bar of soap.

"For being a pint-sized genius, you're incredibly dense when it comes to emotions." Corazon comments lightly as he lights his cigarette. The rain from earlier has lessened and all that lingers is a drizzle. But damn him for tempting her with those cigarettes.

"Maa, not all of us are social people, Clown-Face. You know I'm emotionally constipated on good days. Lay it out for me." Sam shifts in her seat and rummages around in her pockets for her suckers. She knows they'll be all wet at this point, but it will still be something to do with her mouth. It would also distract her from the awkwardness that seemed to radiate off the situation, at least in Sam's opinion.

"You may be one small ball of fury and sarcasm, but you're still a seven-year-old taken from her home without her consent. Leaving you there would have been nothing less than cruel and inhumane. You once said you would consider accepting my apology once the chains were off. You may have been speaking in terms of the physical chains forced upon you. But I won't consider that deal fulfilled until both emotional and physical bonds are removed. This is just the beginning, Sam. You're not going back to Doflamingo while I still draw breath. Neither is Law, even if he doesn't know it yet." Sam feels an uncomfortable clenching around her heart and she supposes that it's her being emotionally constipated once again.

The water on her face is the rain and the burn in her eyes is from the seawater and sweat. It's not tears, because Sam doesn't just start crying when a stupid emotional clown makes sweeping statements. Something that he couldn't promise. If she failed, not only would Law be devastated, Sam starts to think she, herself, would be an emotional wreck. Corazon could probably read the slump of her shoulders and could probably predict the high chances of her getting defensive and snarky in the next couple minutes if he didn't change the topic.

"Besides, he was getting curious where you were going off to, and what you were up to for hours at a time. He was beginning to think you were the informant. The last thing we needed was him figuring out just how useful your power could be." The topic change is a bit jarring and it has her head spinning with thought of him spying on her and what it meant for her potential freedom.

"Have you been poking your clown nose around where it shouldn't be, Corazon?" Sam quirks an eyebrow and appears calm on the outside while internally she's having a meltdown. How much did he see? He couldn't have found her notes on her powers, those were safely tucked away in an inner pocket she had sewn into her pants. She could feel the pressure of the small notepad on her left leg.

Corazon pulls out another cigarette and makes himself as comfortable as he can in the little rescue ship. He lights it and takes a deep inhale. She can tell he hasn't slept in a while. The face paint near his eye was smudged, as well as the red around his mouth.

"Doffy's orders, Sam. But I couldn't tell him what I really saw or heard, that would have spelled certain doom for you. From what I could tell from just watching and listening to you and your clones, is that your original theories were incorrect. That you thought you lost all influence over a duplication after it left your grasp." Corazon takes a deep pull of his cigarette. Sam is more concerned about how reckless she's been, that she hadn't noticed someone watching her. Usually, she was on top of things like this.

But lately, she's been finding herself in an odd position. She realizes that the older she gets, the more she forgets about her past life. Sam is sure that any normal person would start to panic. Perhaps they would write everything out in a bid to make sure they didn't forget anything.

But the more she stays in this world the more she can see that it's adventure that drives almost everyone here. The need for freedom sings in their veins every time someone sets sail for the ocean. So, that left the question of, who the hell was she to interfere with their adventure? She knew she would be taking on the role of some pseudo god if she started to sway everything to the way she wanted them.

Though, Sam understood there were events that occurred that she couldn't let happen. Like Corazon getting killed, Ace being taken to an execution platform, or Sabo getting blown up. All three of those things directly influenced her life at the moment. Those were things that she needed to remember. But the rest?

What was the point in knowing about every arc besides puppeting everyone else's life? Did she really want to become another Doflamingo? Who's very being sucked the joy and freedom out of everything. Whose life goal was having control of everything.

Sam didn't want to live her life according to a book. She wanted surprises to happen, she was strong enough to take the bad with the good. What was life if you were living it by plot points. All she wanted at this point in her life was freedom. Not to have to worry that her presence was interfering with some type of development point. She was here, there was no changing that, and she had every right to live it how she saw fit. The question was could she be that selfish?

Could she ignore the pain of other people when she had the knowledge to help them? Sam always knew that she was a selfish person, her brother had told her many times. But when it came to family she would put everything on the line to protect them.

Though, she was no longer the teenaged aunt who would worry about being a terrible parent to her nephew. It was also hard keeping those dreams of her nephew, and best friend. Knowing that she would never see them again. It was hard having to wake up and expect to see a hole in her gut and blood spilling out. All of it was hard. Was it so terrible of her if she wanted to forget the rest, even if it included some of the plot of One Piece?

"You discovered that your power allows you to transfer your consciousness to other clones for a time. That there is something that connects you to your clones that allows you to take control and use that body as a dummy body. That you think you might be able to clone a Devil Fruit user, but don't dare try." Corazon was rambling on completely ignorant of her introspection.

But that was fine for now, she still had some time left before they started to fade completely. As soon as she was done making sure Corazon and Law were alright, then she would make her decision. If she could continue knowing everything that was going to happen by writing it down. Or, if she would break free from her past and let whatever happen, happen.

Sam stuffs her hands into her pants pocket and pulls out another sucker and pops it in her mouth. She stares at Corazon thoughtfully, idly flicking the sucker stick back and forth in her mouth as she thinks.

"Mhm, you've got it mostly right. My Devil Fruit is a tricky thing, I'm still learning as I get older and think of new ways to experiment. What I think is happening is something centered around frequency. Everything in this world has a frequency. A molecular make up that is completely theirs. When I multiply myself I'm essentially multiplying myself down to my base structure to get an exact copy. This, of course, can be done thoughtlessly without having to understand biology.'

'When I clone myself, and from when I cloned my brother, I remembered noticing that I had something that he didn't have. It was a hum of something that I just couldn't pick up on him. But I felt it within myself. That was how I started to figure out there was a way to possess my clones. Homing in on that humming allowed me to resonate myself to that frequency and to possess that clone.'

'Devil Fruit and Devil Fruit users have a different frequency compared to regular people, it's what makes us unable to swim and sink to the bottom of the ocean. If I'm correct I could duplicate the frequency as well as the person it's tied to." Corazon wipes a palm down his face and sighs tiredly before he straightens out to look Sam in the eye.

"I want you to promise me to never share that theory with anyone. No matter what, never admit that you could possibly do that. You would be in more danger than you are now. Doflamingo would be the least of your worries if anyone caught wind that you could clone Devil Fruit users. You want freedom, Sam? Do not experiment with that side of your power." Sam already knew all of this. It was one of her biggest fears, being captured by the World Government and ordered to give them an army of Devil Fruit users. She could remember how cloning had turned out for Sanji and his family. She wanted no part in any of it.

It also wasn't like she could clone anything more than what would fit in her range of manipulation. Though she did find out that she could make that bigger through clones. The more she thought about, the more she wanted to know why no one had made mention of such a powerful fruit.

"I already know that, stupid clown-face. I should have been much more careful though, I was reckless to have let anyone overhear those conversations. How did you listen without me noticing? Do you think any of the others may have overheard me?" Sam scratches the side of her cheek and stretches out her feet. She can tell dawn is approaching by the lightening sky and the vibrant colors that set it aflame. Dawn was always pretty when you were at sea. Sam loved that time where no one bothered her, and she could think clearly without having to worry about other people on the ship.

"You were careful, but I have the calm-calm fruit that can make me silent. Sneaking and spying comes with the package. I doubt that anyone heard you. Once I realized what you were doing I silenced the area you were working in and directed Doflamingo's attention elsewhere." Sam nods and she's grateful to the man. Her situation could have been a whole lot worse if Doflamingo had chosen anyone other than Corazon to be her watcher.

It's silent for a time Sam just enjoying the light breeze and crisp air. Hopefully, her clothes would dry out soon. She was pretty uncomfortable in her soaking wet white t-shirt, suspenders, and dress slacks. Sam can't even remember falling asleep.

* * *

"This is kidnapping! Untie me! Hey! Corazon, you jerk I'll make you pay for this! Say something! Hey!" Sam jolts awake, and she feels the drool at the corner of her mouth. She discreetly wipes it away as Law wages a war with an entirely unfazed Corazon.

Law finally notices she's awake. He looks relieved and squirms in his rope binds. Sam has to hold back a smirk at the ridiculousness of a wiggling Law.

"Sam?! Sam, thank god, you're up! Corazon has gone crazy and has kidnapped us! Untie me so we can take over the ship with your clones. We can call Doflamingo and get him to find us." Sam raises her eyebrows. All the while questioning his sanity, she still responds.

"Maa, that's gonna be a problem, Doc. I'm here willingly, and if you'd take a step back and rethink your words, you would realize how ridiculous they sound. Especially, when directed at me." Sam raps him on the head with her knuckles and points a finger at herself.

"Me? Last person I'd ever call is shitty flamingo. Sorry, you're out of luck on this one." Sam shrugs, shoves her hand in her pocket, and pops a sucker in her mouth. Pointedly ignoring Law and his pleas. When he starts demanding her to "for once in her life think rationally, and not like the psychotic harpy she usually acts like" is when she gives him a good knock to the shin. Sam's ready to tear him limb from limb, defenseless he may be, but call her psychotic one more time… Sam's thoughts of violence are ended when the den den mushi rings.

Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

Purupurupuru

"Hey, pick up the transponder snail! Isn't it Doflamingo?! I'll talk! Pick it up! What are you going to do to me?" Law wiggles in his bonds some more and Sam is legitimately concerned he's going to throw himself overboard if he continues. They would be screwed because the only people that could save him were two devil fruit users that sank like anchors in the water.

"Law, calm down. We don't have something nefarious we're planning. We're more worried about your health and how fast the disease is growing. What I'm really worried about is that your calculations might have been wrong." Sam looks him in the eye and Law looks away. Stupid boy, trying to lie when she knew him. How he wanted nothing to do with hospitals, that he found dying semi preferable to having to deal with dumb ass doctors.

She knew this wasn't going to go well. Corazon's plan to hit all the hospitals they could, that it would be stressful for all involved. But she had to at least try for Law. She didn't know what changes this world might have. She didn't remember Sabo having a sister in the original series. So, could that mean someone had a cure for White Lead's Disease? Perhaps that was just her wishful thinking.

She didn't know, and she was concerned about getting Law healthy as soon as possible. If that meant they had to destroy a few hospitals along the way, so be it. She was just really hoping that the Barrel Pirates got hold of the Op-Op devil fruit.

"Despite what you may think of either of us, we both care, Law. We care about what happens to you. So, you can hide the severity of your illness all you want, we still care enough to notice when you're struggling." Law stays quiet and glares at Sam.

Again, with the overly emotional bullshit... She would find a way to kick his ass later for making her feel the equivalent to a mushy love note. Grimacing, Sam unwraps another sucker and shoves it in her mouth. She wanted something stronger than root beer.

* * *

It's hours later, and Corazon is flipping through a book on hospitals. Sam is looking through them as well, and they're both discussing which hospital would be best to go to first. Sam knows it's the one that is near a small port city. Sam is cautious though. In a situation like this, she's damned if she did and damned if she didn't. Sam didn't want to put Law through the pain of going to each hospital and being thrown out. But, she also didn't want him to die if the devil fruit wasn't found

She supposes that in six months she could demand they go to Minion Island, but what if the Barrel pirates weren't there? She would have exposed an extremely sick Law to freezing temperatures for no reason. Sam just wanted to cover all her bases, because Doc had grown on her. Despite her best efforts. He had been helpful in those first few months with the Donquixote Pirates and endured being her verbal punching bag when Doflamingo would punish her for her back talk.

The click of the transponder snail and the beep for each number draws her attention away from her wandering thoughts. Corazon seemed to be calling someone. Sam closes her book and watches him closely.

"Rice-Crackers" the grunt over the line can be heard by all occupants of the boat. She knows that Corazon could have easily made it so neither of them could hear the conversation. But, he doesn't. It confuses her, was it a show of trust, or did he just forget that he could block them out from the conversation? She never really knew with Corazon. He could be sneaky like that sometimes.

"Rice-Cracker pellets," he murmurs back fondly. Sam studies his face and she can see the affection for whoever was on the other side of that phone. His face muscles that had been so tense while discussing hospitals were relaxed. His eyes that had been squinting in stress were wider and softer around the edges.

"Oh, it's Rosinante, isn't it?" The sound of wrestling packaging could be heard. Sam notices that Law is staring intently at Corazon. She wonders if he is making the same observations. Its then it hits her. This wasn't just some man, this was the Fleet Admiral Sengoku. A man that she wanted to avoid for the fact that he was so high up in the food chain that she looked like a piece of grass.

"I'm taking a break from my mission for a while." There's a pause and the loud munching momentarily stops.

"Are you in any trouble" the voice asks cautiously. Sam twitches nervously in her seat and her fingers start picking at the corner of the book that's in her lap. She hadn't been idle in her years with the Donquixote Pirates. She had been told by Doflamingo to put a cap on how blatantly she was using her power, that the wrong type of people were starting to look too closely. Especially, after the stunt that she pulled on that prehistoric island 3 weeks ago. Cloning velociraptors and triceratops and letting them go wild was a big no, no. She had leveled half the island and caused mass displacements.

She had never seen Corazon so mad before, it was because they both knew the type of trouble she would be causing herself if she waved her power around like a red flag for a bull. But watching them treating giants as useless slaves pissed her off. What right did they have to enslave them.

The fact was they didn't, and whipping didn't sit well with her either. So, she caused a distraction and unchained the giants. The giants killed their captors and stole their ship. Doflamingo was pissed that she ruined the arms deal, but the week of marionetting was worth the shouts of joy that rang from the giants' boat.

"No, it's personal." Corazon responds curtly as if waiting for disapproval. Sam snaps her attention back to the present conversation. She should have been paying more attention. This was an important conversation and she was off in her own world.

"Okay got it." The man comments right back. Sam notes a relieved sigh that comes from the man on the other end of the line. She thinks that this is the end of the conversation, but clearly, she is wrong when he starts asking dangerous questions.

"How are the kids? Are they still there even though you're giving them a hard time?" Sam pauses like a deer in the headlights. She looks up at Corazon only to see him wince. Squinting her eyes, she starts having suspicions that Corazon had been flapping his big red lips when he shouldn't have.

"I don't think those three will leave…" He comments hesitantly, Sam eyes him cautiously. Just waiting for the other man to prove her suspicions right. Not that she could really blame the man if he had to report on her. The stunt she pulled on the prehistoric island was just short of asinine.

"What about the devil fruit user?" Corazon face palms, and Sam can feel her nails digging into her flesh as she resists the urge to jump in the water to escape the repercussions of her actions. She knew it was her fault for letting her anger get the better of her. But shouldn't it count for something that she did a good deed for someone?

"I'll send you my response in writing." Corazon states clearly as he shoots Sam worried looks. Sam's not really paying attention to the man now. More concerned about the information the Fleet Admiral has on her and what they were going to do with that information. Sam is still cursing herself for her stupidity. But she couldn't bring herself to regret freeing those giants, no one belonged being enslaved.

"The Family's became quite ill-famed now. Outlook Samantha is being investigated at the moment for her part in the escaped giants. The World Government is wanting answers. Stories of a powerful weapon are starting to float around. It's a fiasco. Be careful." He states in clipped tones. Sam feels her heart in her throat because she can't believe this is happening again. But she has no one to blame but herself.

"Okay," Corazon answers in a rough voice. Looking at her with sad eyes. Law is quiet but is looking at her as well. Sam ignores them both and turns her attention to the vast ocean. Panic slowly builds in her chest, and she knows that she can't go through another experience like she did with Doflamingo. She would have to start being one step ahead. She was starting to realize that she couldn't just leave all her information on the future and their events to rot. They were clearly going to be needed and she hopes that she hasn't lost anything. Sam wants to punch herself for even thinking that it was a good idea.

But she needs to devote her time to Law first. She and Corazon both did, whatever else was planned for her she could deal with it after Law got better. It was looking like they were going to need that Op-Op devil fruit now more than ever, though. She hoped that Doflamingo still trusted his brother enough to let him know the details. It would be a perilous situation but preferable to nothing at all.

"I entrust this case to you so do whatever you like. Keep me updated." The other man starts to wrap up the conversation. The air on the ship is stifling. Filled with tension and worry. But, most of all a deep sadness. Sam's not sure what the other two have to be sad about but she's grateful that they both understand the type of pressure that this would put her under.

"Roger that. I'll send you the details in writing." Corazon hangs up and it's quiet for a moment before Law starts yelling. Abruptly shocking Sam out of her thoughts.

"Where were you calling just now?! You said "mission" Are you a Navy soldier or something?!" Law questions as he struggles under his binds. Sam listens passively as she starts organizing the notes she has on the hospitals and plotting a time line, making sure she could account for rest time for Law. She couldn't have him getting even more sick if his immune system was compromised due to the White Lead's Disease. These thoughts are better than her actual reality now.

"You don't like the Navy soldiers?" Corazon questions and Sam looks up from her notes. That was kind of a silly question at this point. The government had played a part in both becoming targets. Even if Virgo was loyal to Doflamingo, they were threatening Ace's well-being which just didn't fly with her.

"People tying to the government make me sick!" Law spits back and Sam feels a little sorry for Corazon.

"I'm not a Navy soldier," Corazon shrugs but she can tell he's nervous and slightly hurt.

"Really?!" Sam face palms and ignores the two idiots for the moment. She had important stuff to do. Stuff that didn't involve her thinking about the Navy, the Government, or anything involving her Devil Fruit ability.

* * *

So, I'm still playing around with the Devil Fruit...But, it's important for the next chapter! So, stick with me a bit longer! Sam's getting in deeper with the characters. Facing some tough decisions soon. Facing some tough people soon, as well. Who knows who she'll run into next! (I do but that's a secret).

Next arc will include time skip, some hard truths, and some violence. But aren't those the bread and butter of One Piece?

But I'm getting ahead of myself…

Next Chapter: Stumbling Blocks (Is that vague enough for you?)

P.S. Thank you for the Favorites, Reviews, and Follows they tell me that people like what I write. Which is still surprising. Also, you guys have the patience of a saint. Thank you, for understanding my hectic schedule.

**I finished this early so I thought I would post it before the 1st.


	13. Stumbling Blocks

Sam stares blankly at her new bounty poster. They caught her when she wasn't looking. She was frowning, a sucker stick drooping from one side of her mouth, a bloodied hand scratching her cheek. Her blonde hair was cut short and a red bandanna was tied in her hair like a headband. She had on her white shirt and suspenders with dress slacks. Underneath the picture was

SKULL SLAM SAM

WANTED ALIVE

12,000,000 Beri

She shuddered at the horrible moniker. So, what if she caved a few heads in with her pistol. The doctors deserved it after denying her best friend treatment. Especially, the man-woman nurse they first encountered. White monster? Sam showed her where she could shove her idiocy. But, it had been the first of many terrible hospital visits. All which ended in medical personnel being hit and the hospital destroyed. Which led her to six months later and no sight of a cure or devil fruit. She felt like a failure for dragging Law through this shit and nothing to show for it. She knew Corazon was feeling the same way.

"What am I doing? I've been repeatedly making the kid from that tragic town relive the tragedy… And he hasn't gotten any better..." Sam looks up from her place on the mountain crag. She sees the maps scattered around with notations scribbled on them and other pertinent information they had discussed. But, what really has Sam's eye is Corazon drowning himself in alcohol. Lucky bastard.

Smashing his beer bottle, he staggers over to Law. Which is a waste of a perfectly good alcoholic beverage when the stupid clown could have given it to her. But, Sam's not that mad. They were all in a lot of pain and no one knew what to do. Sam watches as he hovers over Law looking so defeated.

"I have… I have been feeling sorry for him… Law! I'm sure you don't want… this idiot who just keeps hurting you… to say something like this but... You're still a rude little boy and hearing you say "I'll die soon" is heartbreaking. You… stabbed me...that day but...it didn't hurt at all! I know you were the one in pain! You poor thing! Law!" Sam sighs as she rolls up her wanted poster and shoves it in her back pocket. She gets up in time to see Corazon pass out. Ignoring the sniffles that come from Law, she rolls the larger man onto his side, so he didn't drown in his own vomit if he did throw up.

Sam gets up and goes over to sit next to Law. Wiping a hand down her face and sighing tiredly. She hadn't been sleeping. Too worried about the future to really let her mind relax. She had nightmares where she didn't find the fruit in time and both he and Corazon died because of her. But she couldn't be thinking that negatively right now when Law needed emotional support that she wasn't sure she'd be able to give.

"The thing about Corazon is that he hides a lot behind his face paint… I guess he's not the only one. I hide behind my guns and mouthiness, but you already knew that when you saw me at my worst. I know, when it comes to emotions, that I'm usually willfully ignorant to avoid awkward situations. That comes from never growing up in a loving household.' She doesn't really want to rehash all of this, but she wanted a point of connection. To tell him that they all had their stories that they never really eluded to. Fuck, she wished she had something stronger than suckers.

'My mother and father were part of the nobility back on my home island. Appearance was everything to them, so much so that they wanted us to fit the perfect role of Heiress and Heir. That meant behaving, listening to my parents, and following their every order to a T. Thing about me is, I'm not ladylike or anything approaching that. So, I found ways to subvert them, irritate them, and make their lives just as miserable as they were making mine. But, I was too willful for their tastes and they thought they could subdue me by marrying me to some royal. Of course, I had to reject that idea."

With her face twitching in agitation, Sam digs around in her pockets for her suckers. She sees Law move under his blanket and he sits up, she notices that his eyes are red and he still has a trail of tears on his face. Sam unwraps her sucker and shoves it in her mouth. She rests her forearms on her crossed-legs and stares back at Law.

"So, in a fit of anger, I finally showed them all my cards and they realized that I was far more intelligent than I ever let on, they knew that they could never control me. So, my shitty father takes a trip to Sabaody. I'm not sure what happened there but he comes back after a few weeks with a contract with Doflamingo. A contract stating that he's sold my ass to the highest bidder. I run away with my brother into the forests that surround Goa. I evaded him for two years before Vergo threatened the livelihood of the other brother that I found." Sam spits the finished sucker stick from her mouth and shoves another one into her mouth. She starts to pop the knuckles in her hand for something to do while discussing something she really didn't want to.

'My brothers are my world, they kept me sane when it felt like I was going to break. I would sacrifice anything for them without question. And you Trafalgar D. Water Law have somehow made it into the few people that I trust. The few people that I would sacrifice anything for, I don't know when or how it happened. You have become a person that is precious to me and it would hurt immensely if I ever lost your friendship. The same goes for idiot clown-face over there. So, you're going to have to hang in there until we can find something. There is no other option, Doc." Sam tells him solemnly as she clenches the sucker stick between her teeth.

Law stares at her unblinkingly. Sam stares back unflinchingly. The nod she gets is a relief. Sam nods back and looks away.

"I was born in Flevance…" Sam listens to his story even though she already knows it. If he had to listen to her sally-sob-story she can listen to his excruciating history. By the end of it, where he had to escape hidden between dead bodies, she wanted to set fire to the world nobles. But that was a familiar feeling by now, each hospital visit just urged her on to make a change the world needed.

"You know, this world is so corrupt. The more that I travel the more that I see it. I've never really had a dream to follow. I honestly never thought that I would make it this far with the type of parents I have, but if there was one thing I would like to do in my time in this world it's to overhaul the entire World Government." Sam spits out her sucker stick and looks away uncomfortably at the weird look Law gives her. She's not sure what that look means but she's sure she would regret it later. But for now, she ignores it like she does with everything else that makes her uncomfortable.

"That's a really big dream," Law comments softly. Sam ponders this as she lays back on the soft grass.

"Yeah, but isn't that what life is all about? The big dream? Sure, you have small goals here and there, but you always will have that big dream in your heart, you know? That dream that aches and nags at you when you're up at night and can't sleep." Sam says quietly.

She thinks about her old family and she realizes that no matter what she may do, returning to them is never going to be possible. That she has mourned them for seven years. While she never will forget them, there needs to be a balance. Having a lifetime dream in this world may help though.

"Those are heavy words for someone who was so ready to die," he comments as he lays out next to her on the grass. Sam snorts at the comment.

"That's true, but clown-face over there gave me hope. Hope that I wouldn't spend the rest of my life hurting people. It may not seem like it, but I don't like hurting people. Sure, I'll get violent when something of mine is threatened but I never find joy in truly hurting people. You know, everyone has their stories. Reasons why they do the things they do, but no one ever takes the time to actually know those reasons and they automatically make that person evil." Sam stares at the stars, she can realize with her parents in this life the reasoning behind their assholeishness was money. They cared little of family and that was a cardinal sin to Sam. Because family was everything to her.

"Take the government for example. What is the reasoning behind killing an entire village? It was to cover their own asses. That stuff doesn't fly with me. What is the reason we let the Celestial Dragons do whatever the hell they want to do? Because they have power? That's a shit reason as well. It is an injustice that needs to stop. But change takes time, and I've got nothing but time." Sam gives Law a lazy smile and he looks away as he stares at the night sky.

"What would you say if I once had a dream as well? A dream to get to One Piece?" Sam smirks and stares back at the sky.

"Well, we need to get you fixed up first, but I'd be willing to bet you'd get farther than anyone else before you." The blush that covers his cheeks is adorable.

Sam changes the subject and they end up swapping stories about little siblings. He laughs at the amount of times she had to go save Sabo from the jaws of a giant predator, or the amount of times she had to mend Ace's clothes after getting his pants torn off by the giant carnivorous squirrels that he continued to battle. He tells her about Lamey and what a great little sister she was, Sam ignores his tears and listens. They're still talking by the time the sun rises and they decide that Corazon will probably need something to combat the massive hangover that he's going to be battling that morning.

Law goes about making breakfast and Sam watches the birds fly overhead. She really is a terrible cook, and everyone was better off when she was nowhere near cooking food. She's sure she could burn water if she truly tried. Sam moves her line of sight toward Law and watches him slowly go about cooking breakfast. She can tell he's in pain just by the way he hesitates when moving and it makes her want to destroy something.

But, she must put that urge off until Law gets better. She must put that urge off because the World Government was now actively pursuing her. Sam always knew that life wasn't fair. But this life she seemed particularly cursed.

"Oi, Sam! Wake up Corasan, would you?" Law asks impatiently. Sam has to roll her eyes at how rude he was on a regular basis and how no amount of bonding would change that.

"So bossy, Doc…" Sam grumbles as she rolls to her feet to wake the dead to the world Clown. She thinks he deserves equal retribution for the untimely death of a perfectly good beer last night. That shit was precious, seriously… he could have given it to her. She grabs her extra water canteen and proceeds to drop half of it on Corazon.

"Rise and shine, Clown Face!" She shouts paying no attention to the moaning.

"That's enough Sam. Corasan it's breakfast time." Law announces as he comes up behind her, spatula in hand. Corazon shoots up straight and looks at Law with a narrow focus.

Puru Puru Puru

The ringing of the transponder snail interrupts the stare off and Sam rolls her eyes at the horrible timing.

"Oi, Corasan!" Law calls out, shifting on his feet and looking away from Corazon; embarrassed.

"I like how that sounds. Call me that again!" Corazon smiles stupidly, and Sam rolls her eyes. She knows this was going to take some time.

"Cut it out!" Law snaps out, blushing. Sam smirks at the sight of an embarrassed Law. She wishes she had a camera for posterity.

"Don't be shy!" Corazon tries to coax Law. Sam's snickers and the death glare has her barking a laugh out.

"Just pick it up! The snail!" Law growls and pouts like the child he is. Corazon just keeps smiling that stupid clown smile as he goes for the transponder snail. The smile saying that he'll make it mandatory for Law to call him that all the time.

Puru puru puru

Clank

"It's me, Corazon," shitty flamingo says through the transponder. Sam grits her teeth and crosses her arms. He always did know how to ruin good things. She's sure he was born with the talent of being a miserable problem causing bastard.

"Corazon, you're there, aren't you?" Doflamingo is impatient and she can hear the curt tone of his words. Corazon taps on the phone in agreement.

"It's been six months since you three have left. Is Law or Samantha with you?" More tapping has Sam twitching and moving closer to Law.

"I see, I'm glad you three are okay. Make sure you let Samantha know how proud I am that she has a bounty of her own. But she also should take care not to draw too much attention." A pale hand grabs hers and holds tight. Law gently squeezes her fingers in reassurance. Sam tries to breathe.

"Have you found a doctor?" Doflamingo questions with idle curiosity. Corazon taps on the phone again.

"I thought so," the sound is so self-satisfied and makes her want to shoot him in the head. But that's her normal reaction to anything Doflamingo.

"Bring Law and Sam and come back to the ship. We might be able to cure the disease. I got information about the Op-Op Fruit. A pirate crew found it and they were offered a huge amount of money by the Navy, some stupid pirates who don't know its value will accept a tradeoff, it seems." The creepy laughter on the other end of the transponder snail has her skin crawling.

"The government must be pulling the strings behind the scenes. It's risky but we'll seize it. Once we get it, because of the nature of its power, the person I trust most should eat it. You eat it Corazon. And cure Law's disease." Doflamingo demands before he hangs up.

Clank

"Good news, Law! You have a chance to survive! Forget about foolish doctors! If we can get the Op-Op Fruit, we'd be able to cure your White Lead Disease!" Corazon picks Law up and swirls him around. Sam frowns thoughtfully as she crosses her arms and leans against a nearby tree.

"What's the Op-Op Fruit?" Law asks flatly as his face is a picture of being completely unamused.

"It gives you the ability to modify human bodies! You can perform miraculous operations and cure even unknown diseases with it!" Corazon rambles excitedly. But Sam is worried. Why wasn't the timeline changing? How did her presence change something? Did she have any control over this world at all? Was she just as much a puppet as everyone else?

"I don't believe in that magic crap…" Law pouts. Sam narrows her eyes and contemplated giving her doc a slap to the head when he knows that there are two Devil Fruit users in front of him.

"No! It's no magic! You need medical knowledge! I know that you're the son of a doctor who was trusted by the people of Flavance! Since the time you were able to understand you were learning medical knowledge and techniques, weren't you?!" Corazon wheedles. Trying to get Law to realize the blessing this could be if he would just get his head out of his butt.

"Yeah… but what does that have to do with this?!" Sam palms her face at her friend's idiocy. For being a pint-sized genius, he was remarkably dense when it came to his own health.

"So, it's perfect for you to eat it, Law." Sam interrupts and her friend looks at her with lost eyes.

"Me?! Doflamingo said Corasan should eat it!" Law protests and looks frightened. Sam calms her scowling and looks at her friend with a neutral stare. In the end it was his choice to accept the fruit or not. Honestly, no one should ever force a devil fruit on someone. It was something that needed to be a choice and not be an accident or forced. She gives him the shortest run down possible.

"A person will die if he eats two Devil Fruits. Shitty Flamingo said that because he doesn't know that Corazon is a Devil Fruit user." Sam explains as she chews on a used sucker stick.

"You, Sam, and I… We won't go back to the Family!" Corazon interrupts the back and forth of Sam and Law. Sam stares at Corazon, unblinkingly. He has her attention.

"What?" Law whispers as he stares at Corazon.

"I decided so when I noticed this journey would take longer than I thought. I think that Doffy knows that I'm a traitor by now." Sam spits out her old sucker stick and stares toward the ocean. He wasn't lying. No doubt, Trebol and Diamante were filling his head with all sorts of plots and schemes.

"But he didn't sound like it. He said that you should eat it…" Law contests that idea immediately. Sam has to remind herself that he's just a kid and he knows nothing about the inhuman asshole Doflamingo could be to his own family. Sam could tell you she had a few father issues in both lives, but never enough to shoot her father in front of her little brother. Or, be as crazy and cruel to shoot her own brother.

"There is another reason for Doffy to say he wants me to eat the Op-Op Fruit! Listen, we'll get the jump on Doffy and the others and steal the Op-Op Fruit! You eat the fruit! When you get cured, let's go hide somewhere! Prepare to set sail! We'll get the Op-Op Fruit at any cost!" Corazon decides this and goes straight to the phone. Sam rolls her eyes and gets some of the now cold eggs and bacon that Law made. The thought briefly crosses her mind that Doc could be a chef if he wanted to but discards it just as quickly. Doc will always be a Doc.

The water slapped against Sam's face as she tried to navigate the choppy waters of the North Blue. Corazon was holding tightly to Law, who had barely been able to move the last few weeks. They were now on their way to the Diez Pirates base, and it was Sam's job not to let Corazon get his silly ass killed. Sam was worried though.

The only way Law had been able to escape was because Drake X had run away to a marine ship. Doflamingo would no doubt be searching for a young girl as well? Of course, she could use her clones, but she still had to contend with the string prison. That would be the most difficult. As the waters slowly stopped their violent churning and a light snow began to fall Sam knew they were close. She has a clenching in her gut, she was worried. She wasn't sure if she was going to survive this, if anyone would survive this, but she had to try. The bond she had formed with the two men demanded no less. The air became frigid and Sam holds her warmer coat closer to her chest, praying for a miracle.

When they reached Minion Island Sam was unsure how to feel. This was a major turning point in the plot of One Piece and so far, nothing she's done has affected the plot. She seriously wondered if she would have any impact on this world. This would put it to the test she supposed.

"Law, Sam, I want you to stay here while I get the fruit." Corazon announced as they docked next to a cliff. He had on his purple glasses and Sam could see his uneasiness at leaving them alone in a boat. Law looked toward Sam at the same time she looked to him. They looked back at Corazon and shook their head in opposition.

"You take Law up first, I'll follow. Stupid clown thinking you can do everything on your own. You can barely put one foot in front of the other." Sam grumbled as she looked away, forcing herself not to replay Corazon stumbling or taking six bullets to his body because of his clumsiness. She willed herself not to see Corazon taking a final seven shots in the chest from his own brother. Sam pulls her coat tighter to her body and waits to hear the stretch and pull of the rope as he starts to climb with Law on his back.

Sam quickly follows. The cold air numbed her fingers as she continues to climb. It made it exceedingly hard to keep hold of the rope. She was sure her hands were bleeding from the friction of pulling herself up, and she curses herself for not thinking to bring gloves. All she was thinking during that time was that it was worth it.

So long as she saved Corazon and Law, it was worth it all.

She finally makes it to the top of the cliff and her hands are red raw, but she could barely feel it. So, she puts the pain out of her mind for the time being. Waiting for Corazon to get a good distance she starts to set out some clones. One going back to the boat to wait, and the others to spread out farther.

She soon follows Corazon through snow covered fields, ignoring how the sometimes meter high snow drifts seep into her boots and pants, leaving her with a bone deep chill. Her teeth were chattering, and all she wants to do is go back to Goa where it seemed permanently tropical. It seems like hours, though its only half an hour, before they reach an abandoned village and they convene in an empty house. Corazon had been putting off planning for this mission, saying that he needed to see the layout before they made any plans. It made her wary but she had agreed, and it was logically better to get a feel of a place before making plans.

"Listen, I want you two to stay here while I get the fruit. I know it will be hard to wait but I'll be back in no time with the fruit and we'll be able to start our new adventure in no time!" He smiles and gives a peace sign before running off, not letting Sam have a chance at protest. Sam is dumbfounded, this entire time she thought she would be able to plan and coordinate with Corazon to get the fruit. Making liberal use of her clones and misdirection. But he pulls this?!

"Stupid. fucking. CLOWN!" Sam shouts and grits her teeth. She knows that Corazon is freakishly tall, and would no doubt make better time than her 4 foot something stature. She turns to look at Law, only to be reminded of just how sick he truly is. She's thankful that he's still conscious.

"I'm going after him, he'll no doubt bungle something up with his clumsiness." Law looks at her with a serious expression and nods. Stopping for a second, she decides to make a clone. "Be careful, Sam." He says quietly.

"Stay with Law," she orders. There is no complaint, because every part of her knows that this would probably be the most important thing she did in this life. This was her repentance. To save the life of a man and a child. This is something so entirely new, that her mind briefly pauses. She's so used to taking lives, not saving them. This world has made her soft, she thinks wryly.

Sam looks back at Law and smiles, "I'm always careful."

She starts running, cursing her stubby legs all the while. Even when she was in male form it made her unbalanced and that was literally the last thing she needed while combating the deep snow. She was out of luck and she was stuck chasing after a grown man running at full speed. She knew she couldn't call out to him either without alerting everyone to their presence.

Slowing at various points to leave clones hinders her considerably, but it's necessary to widen her multiplication field while also keeping control of all of her clones. It will be needed when combating Doflamingo's bird cage. It was the one thing that she did plan for before entering this death trap of an island. If she could set up a net large enough she would be able to control the entire area. Like multiplying mass amounts of snow to create a humongous avalanche. Yeah, that sounded kind of nice drowning the pink flamingo in snow. It would only delay him but that was all they needed to get away.

The snow was blowing fiercely and nipped at her skin. She had to close her eyes as she pushed through the violent winds. What she wasn't expecting was the kid that slammed straight into her. Feeling disoriented and irritated at being slowed downed in the slightest she pushes whoever it was off her and continues to run.

"W-Wait! Who are you?" Sam turns her head at the kid. He's covered in scrapes and bruises. He has an assortment of bandages that cover his face and arms. His orangish hair has something click into place. Sam has a startling realization that this is Drake X, one of the twelve Supernovas in the One Piece world. He was the one that Doflamingo mistook for Law. The one that allowed Law to get away by being on a Navy ship. Her brain kicks into gear as she puts two fingers to her mouth and a clone of a girl with mousy brown hair and dull brown eyes appears in front of her. Along with the image of a short looking nondescript boy.

The clone needs no orders, they know the price of failure. It's either decades at the beck and call of the Navy or Doflamingo. Neither of which are preferable. The clone takes the shocked boy's hand and starts running toward the marine ship placed on the island, ignoring his protests. Sam knows the boy will find a pirate and force him to follow the two. If they could avoid Doflamingo altogether, all the better for them.

The explosion that rumbles the ground has Sam turning her head and staring up at flames that lick at the Diez's hideout. Her stomach drops at the connotations. She speeds up only to realize that she has to slow down each time she has to make more clones to extend her range.

She realizes now that she should have made the clones first and then run. But she knows panic-and being blindsided by clowns- causes mistakes and she's unsure if this is a mistake that can be forgiven. She curses the day she was ever born on this forsaken planet, as it feels like she's moving through glue.

She finally, finally gets to the hideout and has no idea where Corazon might have gone. Panic fills her gut as she looks frantically around for the man. It's when she notices that there are men pointing and shouting in a direction that she realizes that she found which way he went. Sam pulls out her gun and shoots each one of them dead. Sam doesn't have time to feel remorse or guilt. It gets quieter the further she travels. She starts to panic even more. _Quiet is not a good thing_ , she thinks to herself. There's a place in the back of her mind waiting for the gunshots. But they haven't echoed through the island yet. Or did Corazon just have his barrier up and she couldn't hear the shots?

She follows a trail of black feathers hoping that it will lead her to him. She feels worn out and she can hear the voices of her clones in her head. She feels like a hot mess and her thoughts are chaotic. She knows she's overdone it and she is going to pay the price. She knows she's not strong enough yet to have so many clones operating. What is the price she will pay? She's unsure, but she knows its going to be bad.

She finally sees him surrounded by six men with guns ready to fire. Sam creates one more clone. She forces herself to clone her devil fruit frequency as well on this last one. Hopefully, they would be able to anchor the net of multiplication across the island in case she's shot. It is very likely with the way the world is tilting to the side. God, she feels like she's going to be sick. She knows she has one shot before she's useless. She pulls out her gun and shoots it into the back of one man's head. The blood and brain matter spatter across all of them leaving them in stunned horror.

Sam continues to sway drunkenly, not really able to gain her footing. The men all turn their guns on her and shoot. She feels a familiar burning sensation in her gut and chest. She looks down to see that blood is covering her entire coat. Her last thoughts before her memories hit her at full throttle are keeping the clones alive at all cost, so Law and Corazon aren't captured by Doflamingo's string prison.

"Give...Law...the...fruit. Stupid clown." Sam whispers before she collapses. With the last of her strength she pushes her consciousness toward the devil fruit clone. She's not even sure if this will work. It was only a logic problem that she had doodled in her notebook while bored. She would have never tested it for the chance of death being so high, but she knows this body is beyond repair.

"SAM!" she can hear someone yell. Is it Giuseppa or Corazon… But Giuseppa never called her Sam. It was always Sammy…

" _Sammy, you're always so grumpy. Cheer up once in a while will ya? That nephew of yours finally graduated college. It's way more than what we ever did, ne? Though I don't like the look of that girl that was hanging off his arm. That boy of yours sure turned out to be handsome. You'd be proud of Iggy, Sammy. That I have no doubt of. It's time to let go Sammy, not only for yourself, but for the ones that love you now. Let go and be free, freer than any previous mafia brat before you._

When Sam wakes up again she finds herself in a snow drift and is completely freezing. Looking down she notices that the gunshot wound she was expecting was not there. She looks around and notices that the six men were dead. Sam feels weird and disoriented. As she starts to walk around she hears yelling and screaming. She follows the sounds against her better judgement. Sam still wanders around in a haze and avoids the conflict going on between the pirates. She's sure she's seen worse...somewhere.

The screams start to quiet down, and she notices a tall building up ahead. Above her she watches as girl and boy fly. They were screaming down about a boy being taken into protective custody by the Navy and Vergo finding Sam's dead body. Everything clicks back together in a flood of memory and thought. Sam narrows her eyes and starts running. It hurts, a lot, she feels like a toddler running for the first time. She's uncoordinated and her body doesn't want to listen to her. So, she crawls. She hides behind a snowbank and waits.

She knows there is no way to take on Doflamingo herself with only Corazon. But...she could heal him to an extent. She didn't feel like she could heal all of him though. She was tired and wrung out and her consciousness was lagging. But she's sure she can heal him of his wounds from Doflamingo if she had stopped the first six shots and Law never found Vergo. She just needed to be patient and prayed that he didn't go for a head shot.

When she hears the shots ring out she counts seven...fuck that's a lot. Even if she died from over exerting herself it was worth it. Corazon was more important than Sam ever was to this world. She hoped that Law could introduce his cute polar mink to Corazon and he would flip out. Sam could see it all happen if Corazon lived. That was what she was here for, for him to survive with Law so Dressrosa would never happen.

But she still had Sabo and Ace's bright smiles firmly lodged in her mind. She hoped they would forgive her for this sacrifice. She seemed to be doing that a lot lately… Maybe it's part of being a better person and wanting more for the people around you than just yourself.

"Let's go, bring the treasure," Doflamingo's voice echoes against the walls of the courtyard they are in and Sam clenches her eyes shut to keep her tears back because she can practically picture Law's heart breaking. As soon as the crunch of footsteps drifts away Sam runs. She can still see the rise and fall of Corazon's chest and determination flares to life.

"Stupid clown face...what have I told you about your clumsiness." Sam grumbles half-heartedly. She looks over the wounds and can see he is mess. Lazy yellow eyes look at her but don't really focus. Sam concentrates on the wounds and is surprised to see that not one of them hit his heart. Doflamingo, for all of his shittyness, was a good shot. Did he just want Corazon to bleed out? Sam heals the shot next to his heart, she thanks every deity that the bullets pierced straight through otherwise she's not sure how she would heal it. Yeah, she can heal stuff but getting bullets out of bone and delicate organs? Not so much. What she's doing is basically a hack job and Law, once he finally figure out his fruit, would have to fix everything she did. But right now it was necessary so she could stabilize him.

She is careful as she digs her fingers into the flesh to stimulate the growth of white blood cells, tissues, muscles, blood, and skin. She gets to the first five bullet holes before passing out on top of Corazon. The screams of Law's anguish echo in her ears along with the fire of military ships.

Sam's not sure when she wakes up but it's to the crackle of a fire and warm blankets surrounding her. She slowly cracks open her eyes and is met with a face paint less Corazon staring at the fire like it holds all the worlds answers.

"Corazon?" Sam rasps and her head is pounding. She feels like absolute garbage and she needs something to drink to get rid of the horrible taste in her mouth.

His eyes shoot up and look her straight in the face. She notices that he has tears forming at the corners of his eyes. He slowly gets up and puts a hand on her head and slowly starts running his fingers through her hair.

"Thank the gods you're alive. Never, never do that again to us, Samantha. We…we thought you were dead…" Corazon chokes on his words as he continues to run a hand through her hair. Its soothing in a way she didn't know was possible. She slowly drifts back to sleep ignorant to her surroundings.

* * *

AN: This is the point where I apologize for taking so long (Sorry), life happens. But, hey it is longer than usual! I never actually leave Fanfiction. I just take some breaks and wander off to different fandoms for a bit. Thank you for all the warm words and support you've given me, I really appreciate it. Please continue, it tells me that you like what I post.

(Things I'd like your help or thoughts on...I think I might come back later to add more dialogue from the anime, does it feel rushed? Also, could you guys give me a heads up about any plot holes you see, I've been driving myself crazy for the past week trying to make sure there are none, but those are the hazards of being away from a story for so long. Again, my fault...:P)


	14. Let's up the Bounty

Sam isn't sure how much time passes before she's conscious again but it's to the sound of shouts and cannon fire. Despite the amount of noise happening around her she still manages to sleep on without any effort. The next time it's to murmuring and someone holding her close. Their heartbeat is steady and a hand is running through her hair.

"Just hang in there, Sam. Don't be a hypocrite, you asked me to survive, now it's your turn. We have plans with Corasan, don't forget that. We're suppose to get through this together. Just hang in there until we make it through Reverse Mountain." Sam ends up falling asleep without even twitching.

The next time she wakes up she's able to actually open her eyes, even though she has a blinding headache and every inch of her body is aching and she's unable to move very far. Turning her head she meets the face of someone she's never met.

She takes in the fact that he is a partially bald man with white hair and a flower blooming on the sides of his head, he's wearing thin silver frames, and has a white beard that split in two parts. His lower lip was also noticeably larger than his upper. He was also hovering way to close for comfort. Her head is pounding and she's all sorts of disoriented. She wonders where Corazon or Law is and why there is this man just staring at her. Sam looks closer and realizes that this guy is familiar. Something that started with a C...Cro-something.

"Who the hell are you?" Sam slurs as she looks blearily at the man. The glare he gives her is nothing to scoff at, but still, it doesn't instill the type of unease that one of Doflamingo's does. Sam slowly pushes herself up in the bed and notices that Corazon and Law are not in the room. Now confused and slightly startled she looks back at the man.

"Where's Law and Corazon?" She prompts the man to start answering her questions by asking even more. He still gives her a glare but she ignores it. She's already sweating and panting from moving up the bed the last thing she needs is this old man giving her grief. The older man looks put out that she completely ignored his glare. Huffing, the bearded man takes a seat in a chair near a desk. That was when Sam took the time to look around to see if she could find any similar furniture.

The room she's in is small, but cozy. The sheets she was laying on were in a plaid red and white color. The room was covered all in warm tones, that Sam never realized that she actually liked together. In this life she was always exposed to cold and austere decor, or camping like conditions, or worse yet, shitty flamingo's medical bay. This actually felt like a bedroom.

"Can you explain to me what happened, who you are, and where my friends are?" Sam asks as she focuses her attention back on the man. He crosses his legs and pulls a paper out of nowhere and lets the silence draw on for way too long. Sam takes in the small details like he wears shorts and a pink shirt with green accents. He looks really familiar, but Sam just can't put a name to him.

"You over taxed your Devil Fruit. From what your clown friend told me, you managed to clone yourself and switch bodies when your original body was too damaged to adequately survive. This in itself was a heavy task, let alone the mass net of clones you had planted across the island. The fact that you continued to run even though your body was still adjusting to the changes was reckless, and trying to heal a man with only a devil fruit with multiplication properties was just stupid." Sam winces and lets her head hang down, because she knows this man is only speaking the brutal truth.

"How bad was Corazon," she asks quietly as her hands clench at the sheets. Her stomach aches at the thought she caused him any permanent or lasting injuries. The glare the man sends over his paper tells her that he was not happy with her patch job. Well, he could join the club. She wasn't either, but there wasn't much she could do when running on fumes.

"You're lucky that I am an experienced surgeon, I was able to fix the damaged organs and the improper clots you created. I can't tell you how lucky you were not to have induce cancerous growths. Especially in the more delicate organs and systems like the liver, lymph nodes, and the lungs. But you did save his life, and that's all anyone can ask for when healing someone." Something in Sam's chest relaxed. That was her biggest worry when healing with her multiplication. It was a precise way of healing someone and could go wrong in so many ways if you didn't know what to look for when trying to patch things together. The man looked back down at his paper before continuing.

"By overtaxing yourself you ended up in a healing coma for the past three months. The Marines are hunting down your clown friend for treason, Law for interfering with the transaction of the Marines, and yourself for colluding against the Marines. From what I understand, they caught him and a couple of kids lugging you around on Diez Barrel's stolen pirate ship. They chased them through the entire of North Blue. When the Marines lost them, Germa 66 picked up the chase and followed you guys all the way to Reverse Mountain. They showed a particular interest in your survival when they found your dead body on Minion Island. There is a lot of confusion regarding the whole situation." The man pauses and flips through the paper before pulling out three sheets and handing it over to her.

Sam swipes her sweaty hair out of her face and looks down at the paper.

DONQUIXOTE ROSCINANTE (alias CORAZON)

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

530,000,000 B

She doesn't even notice when her jaw hangs open and she stares at the poster of a sunglasses clad Corazon with his cigarette hanging out of his mouth and donning his black cloak. She slowly looks away and to the next poster, only to see a picture of her friend looking sullen and pissed off.

TRAFALGER D. WATER LAW

WANTED DEAD OR ALIVE

100,000,000 B

Twitching at the fact that Law now had a bounty when she was sure he didn't get one until much later has her switching quickly to the next poster only to be met by her own scowling face.

OUTLOOK SAMANTHA (alias SKULL SLAM SAM)

WANTED ALIVE

70,000,000 B

"Son of a bitch!" Sam curses as she slams a hand to her face. Nothing could ever be simple! They now had her name which could lead them directly to Sabo and Ace if they decided to dig, or Doflamingo decided that he wanted to be an even bigger shit. She's sure the only way they got her full name was because he decided he wanted her to be as miserable as possible. But, Doflamingo was nothing if not stingy and selfish. He would want her power to himself, and he would wait if he had to. He had other methods to get cloned Devil Fruits, granted having her would have made it considerably more easy, but Doflamingo was also thorough. She's sure he already had a couple back up plans up his sleeve. Also, no one knew about her twin, so long as Outlook III kept his nose out of it.

But, she's pretty sure at the moment Doflamingo was busy with plotting the overthrow of Dressrosa. He would probably become a pain in her ass once he established a stable powerbase on the island. Also, he would have to set up all of his contacts with the underworld. But he still wouldn't know where she was, and would think she was with Law and Corazon. He knew her well enough that she would stay clear of any familiar places that could be searched. He was very confident in his skills at reading people.

But her hands were in a bind on taking any preventative action. Drawing in a deep breath Sam tries to center her scattered thoughts. The blinding headache that's throbbing behind her eyes does nothing to help.

The only thing she could do at the moment was run damage control. That included understanding how her presence effected the timeline. From what she gathered so far is that she has to be directly present for anything to change significantly. That meant that she would have to decide to be present for the whole Porchemy ordeal. But, if she remembered right, she was currently somewhere on the Grand Line. That meant that she would have to sail down Reverse Mountain and she had no clue how to do that. She knows she has at least 4 years before anything comes to pass. Sam is derailed from her thoughts when the man starts talking again, clearly not paying attention to the panic attack she's currently experiencing.

"Watch your language, young miss. As of right now, your friends are currently in hiding. They couldn't stay for too long due to the Marines and Underworld actively searching for them. On that note, everyone still thinks you are still sailing with them. That Law fellow told me to tell you that they would keep your brothers' secret safe and try to direct attention away from you and your origins." The man comments as he flips through the newspaper.

Something in her heart clenches at the thought of Law agreeing to protect her brothers. He knew just how important family was to her. He understood that if the World Government got it in their head to buster call the entirety of Goa Kingdom they would just to get to Sam. While she knew, logically, that Luffy and Ace would be safe due to Garp and Dragon, that meant nothing in terms of Sabo. Law was smart, he and his friends developed a submarine that could take them under the water to hide. Somewhere where no one would think to look.

Sam was also smart, she was coming to the point where she would have to find Emporio Ivankov for a couple of changes, at least until she was ready to face the Government, when she was stronger, when she didn't have to worry about her brother's being found on Goa where he was defenseless. She knew he was there for the destruction of Gray Terminal that would be her only chance. But she would have to figure out a way to get away from wherever the hell she was at the moment. Sam is once again pulled from her thoughts when the old man interrupts her.

"As for myself, my name is Crocus. My blood type is AB, I'm a doctor, and I'm a Gemini." Sam's eye twitches at the unnecessary information and dramatic pauses. But the name finally registers and the name did ring a bell in her mind. This was the man that kept Gol D. Roger healthy and stable on his adventure through the Grand Line.

This dude was essentially the one that kept a mother fucking pirate king alive to reach Raftel. Something inside of her jerks at the thought that she might actually get to see her tentative dream of destroying the World Government come through. This was a guy that fought alongside Silvers Rayleigh, a total and complete badass. He also, probably, had a thorough grounding in haki and sharp shooting if she remembers the harpoon he carried correctly. He could also teach her the skills of a surgeon. She would never end up in the same situation as she did when Corazon was when he was shot.

If she was honest with herself she would fit more in the role of a doctor and sharpshooter. She was pretty sure at the end of the day a mix of brute force and subterfuge would be the name of the game if she wanted to get anywhere with the World Government, and the only crews she knew that would be able to help her with her goals was either Law, Luffy, or the Revolutionaries.

Sam knew that her brother would be drawn to the Revolutionaries for the same reason she was drawn. To see their parents and their shitty kingdom torn to shreds. To free the people that the World Government enslaved and abused. While it would make more sense for her to join the Revolutionaries, she felt that was where Sabo grew as a person. She couldn't keep hovering at his side for the rest of his life. The Revolutionaries was where he came into his own, but that didn't mean that she could allow him to go and get himself killed in the process.

"Are you alright?" The man grunts as he gets up from his chair at the desk. Sam looks up from the bounty posters and stares at the man. He tried to give her a dramatic stare, but Sam looked back with the same determination. Looking for any weakness in his gaze.

"You are an experienced surgeon, are you not?" The man raised an eye in question and interest. He waited a moment and nodded. Sam nodded and looked back down at the posters before clenching her hands as thoughts of visiting her brother flooded her mind. She would have to get stronger. This man knew about Devil Fruits, after sailing with the Roger Pirates she had no doubt about it. He knew about haki, he also knew about the New World. He had all of the information she would need to be of any help. This was an opportunity that she couldn't pass up, she would be a complete and utter idiot if she did.

Looking back up at the man she looked him in the eyes and clenched her jaw.

"Teach me! I never want to be this useless again! My friends nearly died and there was nothing I could do beside step in front of a gun for him. That's not being strong, being strong is being able to fight with and next to a friend. I'm tired of always sacrificing myself for the one's I love. I have no problem with it, but I would like to learn how to be an active participant. To not to have to constantly worry them with my actions." Sam stares back at the man never dropping his gaze as she speaks to him. Crocus folds up his paper and puts it back on the desk before looking over his glasses at Sam in consideration.

"You're asking a lot of an old retired man, young miss." Crocus sighs as he rubs his face under his glasses in thought. Sam bites her lip as she considers his words. He's right she is asking a lot from a man that lost his captain. But there is no other option Sam can think of at the moment.

"Two years," Sam states. "Teach me for two years, please. Give me the knowledge that I will be able to use if I ever encounter the same situation again, that I will be able to help if it ever comes to it. Please, Crocus." Sam pleads as she keeps her eyes on the man. Crocus purses his lips as he stares at her.

"Somehow, I know I'm going to regret this, but who am I to deny someone the ability to grow stronger to protect their family and friends. But, let it be known that I expect your full focus and attention while I am giving you lessons. Also, keep the back sass to a minimum, I was already warned by the man in the clown paint that you can be a handful when roused." The man readjusts his glasses only to be met with Sam's scowling face. The smile he cracks does nothing to help the violent thoughts of rearranging Corazon's face paint permanently by hitting him in his ugly mug a few times.

"Clown is going down as soon as I see his face again for the comment," Sam grunts as she crosses her arms in aggravation. The chortling that comes from Crocus has her glaring.

"Don't start with me old man, I have more back sass in my body than I do water. Trust me, I can make your life so much more unpleasant." Sam warns as she barely bites back the snarl that wants to make an appearance.

Crocus bursts out laughing and starts slapping his knee. "You know what, I think you and I are going to get along just fine Samantha." Sam finds no humor in this and narrows her eyes even more as she contemplates how she could get the old man back. She's starting to think that she is the one that is going to regret this more than Crocus.

* * *

When Sabo invades Dadan's house to wake up his lazy brother the last thing he expects to find is him already awake and actually reading a newspaper for, what Sabo assumes, is the first time in his life. What's more, is that his hand is clenched in his ruffled mussed up hair and he looks to be having a panic attack. Sabo, being concerned for his brother, walks over and looks over Ace's shoulder. In bold print WANTED ALIVE SKULL SLAM SAM. His heart leaps in his chest. It was his sister. Her white blonde fly away hair, her piercing eyes that always reassured him, and the scar on her lip standout. The blood on her hand is slightly worrying but that was Sam for you.

A pressure in his chest that has been present since her disappearance releases in a flood of relief. He knew on a personal level that his sister was still alive, but it was infinitely better to see her face and that she was causing trouble for Doflamingo. His sister was not someone that could be controlled easily. Sabo is drawn from his thoughts by Ace's shouting.

"I...I can't believe that she got a bounty before me! She's never going to let me live this down! How am I supposed to catch up to setting giants free and cloning dinosaurs to destroy half an island! This is so unfair. Also, IS SHE INSANE! SHE DREW THE ATTENTION OF THE WORLD GOVERNMENT!" Ace yells as he shoves the wanted poster and the paper in Sabo's face. Sabo takes hold of Ace's wrist and plucks the paper from his hand so he can get a better look. There was in fact an entire article on his sister's antics. From freeing giants to beating in the heads of medical personnel.

It made his lips quirk at the amount of trouble his sister could cause in just a couple years. It was impressive, though she always did have a thing for big, flashy, displays of destruction. For all that she complained that Sabo and Ace needed to be more sneaky, she was always the one that ended up causing the most damage due to her devil fruit.

"Maa, Ace. Don't worry so much Sam is tough. She's made it this far, I have faith she'll go even farther. Though I wonder what the medical personnel did to so thoroughly piss her off? Mysteries of life, ne?" Sabo looks up from the paper to smile at his friend. Ace give his brother a deadpan look.

"You're both crazy!" Ace shouts waking up Dadan in the process. The screaming match between the two has the other bandits in the house scattering.

Sabo silently thinks to himself... _Be careful Sam, you're playing with fire._

* * *

Sam finds no joy in being on bed rest. So, she looks for other ways to bide her time like poking at Crocus to see what makes him tick. Not that she is very successful really, the man is more closed lip than the World Government at a Reverie.

"Come on old man, at least tell me how you got that massive scar on your left arm. It looks pretty bad, like taking out a good chunk of meat bad." Sam whines as she looks up at the ceiling of the little hut she's currently stuck. The whack on the nose with a newspaper makes her feel like she's being thought of as a bad puppy. Sam's not sure how she feels about this. On one hand she loves dogs, but she is, in fact, human. She's also pretty sure that training methods for puppies and children are vastly different. But she's also sure that Crocus couldn't careless, so long as it works.

"Do you ever shut up," Crocus asks absentmindedly as he opens his paper back up to the page he was reading previously. Sam blows a raspberry as she looks back up at the ceiling.

"I am surprisingly quiet when I have something to do, right now: I don't have any guns to clean, or books to read, I am unable to use my Devil Fruit for the next year or so, I have no plots to plan, or plots to ruin, and no little or older brothers to treat. So, your stuck with a bored Sam, and I'm not pleasant when I'm bored. Find a way to entertain me, old man!" Sam whines as she throws her head to the side to watch as Crocus sighs and pulls out a book from the desk drawer. He throws the thick, heavy book at Sam and she barely catches it.

 _Anatomy for Dummies_

Sam sweat drops, which is evidently a thing, at the amount of reading she has ahead of her. She also thinks that Crocus is trying to tell her something with the title of the book, but is too sarcastic to actually call her an idiot out right, least it ruin his fun. _Ruuuude._

"By the end of that I expect a full report on what you did wrong with your clown friend when you healed him." The man tells her as he turns the page in his paper. She's not sure if it's the same paper or new paper, but she finds it infinitely more interesting than the anatomy book she is currently holding. Damn, she hadn't done a real report in years. This was going to suck, like big time. Sighing, she gets to work and pulls out the notepad on the bedside table and starts to read.

It isn't until the hut she's in with Crocus starts to vibrate and groan that she remembers that she is in the belly of a whale for the foreseeable future. That thought is kind of depressing, and she vaguely wonders whether or not Crocus had started putting passageways in the whale or even painting it with the colors of the sky. Sam ignores the noise and goes back to reading. Not noticing the incredulous look she garners from the old man that just finished eating his dinner.

It isn't until another 6 months that she is actually allowed to move around more than just the hut itself. The healing process she has to endure from overtaxing her Devil Fruit is complicated and confusing. But, switching bodies when the original is too damaged is not simple, and is more trouble than it's worth. Like bed rest for a full nine months, and no access to her Devil Fruit abilities for a full year so her body can recalibrate itself. But, despite not being able to access her abilities, Sam is still able to study and learn. Specifically, she is able to help out with keeping Laboon healthy and calm.

Sam knows that Luffy essentially stabbed the poor creature in the nose and challenged it to a battle royal when he returned from the Grand Line, but somehow, she doesn't think that method would work for herself. So, she follows Crocus' example and helps keep the whale calm and patches up any damage he does when he starts hitting his head against the Red Line. Sam wishes there was more that she could do, but she isn't Luffy, and she is not going to break a mast in half to stab Laboon.

Though she and the whale do get along, Sam usually parks herself on the top of his head and reads aloud her medical books to Laboon. She always gives small commentary about what she is reading and what she agrees and disagrees with. She also talks about her brothers and how worried she is for them. How she's excited to meet Luffy and hopes that Ace isn't challenging too many man eating squirrels. She talks about the future and how she hopes to run into Law and Corazon so she can thank them for saving her. She tells him how she hopes that Law is doing okay and that he still has his cute little hat and scowley face. She doesn't notice that these are the times that Laboon calms down and just listens. But Crocus sure does.

After a year has passed, Sam finds herself painting the inside of Laboon's stomach. The commentary on her poor art skills are most certainly not welcomed in the least.

"You call that a bird?" Crocus hedges as he flips through his damned newspaper. Sam who was currently dressed in paint stained overalls, her hair held back by a purple bandanna, sweating, and was covered head to toe in paint smudges; does not appreciate the commentary. She slowly turns her head to glare over her shoulder at the old man, darkly.

"You want to say that again, old man." Sam asks quietly as she grips her paint brush tightly. Crocus finally gets a hint when her aura is so thick that it actually penetrates his reading time. Gulping he quickly back tracks.

"WHAT A FINE PIECE OF ART!" Sam stares a little longer before turning around to her painted bird. Sure it looks like a two year old had been given free reign to draw, but that didn't matter. She had just finished painting the entirety of Laboon's stomach. She wasn't in the mood for his sarcasm. Sam starts muttering to herself as she continues to paint.

"Don't worry, Gully the seagull, he didn't mean it." Sam assures her drawing. She takes no notice of the concerned look Crocus sends her. Perhaps he shouldn't have let her paint Laboon's entire stomach in only three days, he's not entirely sure how the fumes effect the human body…

It isn't until a couple months into her first year with Crocus that she is introduced to haki. Of course, it had to be in the most frightening of ways.

"Oi! Damn it, you shitty old man! Why the hell are you throwing harpoons at me! Do I look like a mother fucking whale!?...Don't answer that!" Sam yells as she dodges out of one aimed right at her head. Laboon gives, what Sam assumes is, a cry of agreement as he watches her dodge the sharp pointy objects of death. Or, he's just hungry. Sam prefers the former.

"The power to feel other's presence more strongly is called observation haki," Crocus announces calmly as Sam dodges out of the way of another spear.

"If you enhance this power, you can tell where your invisible enemy is, and how many there are, and what their next move will be." The old man tells her as he continues his assault on her person. Sam is sweating, and cursing the day that Crocus was born. Which turns out is January 4 making him a Capricorn and not a Gemini. What a freaking liar. Sam's not really sure where this line of thought is headed. But, its better than considering that she's about to be impaled by a tool used to kill WHALES.

"Next is Armament Haki. This power is the same as wearing invisible armor. You can even add it to give more punch to your weapons when you are proficient enough." Crocus announces as his movements speed up and Sam watches as the harpoons start to pierce the wall of Reverse Mountain all the way to the end of the staff. She was going to fucking die!

"Damn you, Crocus!" Sam yells as she continues dodging the harpoons until the moon is full in the sky and she is face down, panting on the dock. Where the hell did he get so many of those things, anyway.

Crocus eventually comes over to pick her up and swing her over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"You're a mean, mean man, Crocus." The old man snorts as he enters Laboon. Sam is just dead weight and doesn't have it in her to fight.

"You haven't seen anything yet, Samantha. You want to survive, and to protect your friends and family? You train harder than ever before, remember that feeling you had when you woke up here. Embrace it, and remember it every time you curse my name." Crocus grunts as he drops her on the bed in his guest room.

Sam has no energy to even roll over to talk, so she speaks into her pillow.

"Thanks, old man." All he gives is a vague hum of approval as he shuts the door behind him.

A year passes by in a blink of an eye. It's between reading medical books, taking tests, writing overviews of medical techniques, practicing on travelers who barely survive reverse mountain, and dodging Crocus' harpoons that she realizes that she can predict when and where the harpoons are coming, and block them with her haki covered hands or feet. She can also sense when there is an incoming ship. Which is bugging the hell out of her at the moment.

Sam takes a second to think about that before going back to her patient who ended up falling half way down Reverse Mountain with his crew. It happened surprisingly often and it made for great practice for the practicing surgeon. She also made short trips to Whisky Peak with Crocus to help out there when they needed surgeons for the more serious injuries.

Of course she had to go out in a disguise anytime she wanted to go anywhere. She eventually just let her hair grow out and dyed it a darker red blonde so she wouldn't have to put on more make up than eyebrow pencil. She often wore her hair in a bun with a straight line of bangs. She usually wore circular glasses similar to Crocus', and never took off her white doctor's mask. Sam slowly stitches up the man's abdomen and wipes away the excess blood.

"Very good, Sam. He should make a fine recovery." The pat on the back makes her blush a bit, because it wasn't often that she got praised by Crocus. It was more likely for him to tease her mercilessly.

"Yeah, yeah. Don't get sappy on me old geezer." Sam brushes it off as she goes over to the sink to wash her hands before changing out of her clothes for her black turtle neck mid drift tee shirt and suspender clad grey pants. Sam feels a another ping of the incoming ship, she can already tell by the way it's coming down the mountain that there is no fear of it crashing. Adjusting her suspender straps she walks out of the lighthouse. Only to be met with the sight of a massive ship. A massive ship with a jolly roger that is achingly familiar.

Red Haired Shanks... Well, shit.

* * *

Hey, guys. Damn, I half expected everyone to forget about this story. Thank you so much for the feedback, suggestions, favorites, and likes. They tell me what you like and if you like where I'm going. They really helped with moving this chapter along. They also made me laugh hysterically at work that had my bosses questioning if I was alright. Thank you, I need a laugh to break the monotony.

Now, don't worry Law and Corazon. They will be back, I've got plans. Also, we're getting close to getting back with Sabo, Ace, and Luffy.

Honestly, I've got more plot twists planned for this than a twisty tie has.

Anyway, on my profile I put info on the times I intend to update, and things that I am working on at the moment. I'll try to update that every Saturday so you guys know I'm not dead or something.


	15. Welcome Red Force

Watching as the Red Force starts to dock in Twin Cape almost has Sam's heart beating through her chest. Because how does one react when a Yonko is setting up shop at the small place she shares with the old man? Crocus seems to notice her distress and lays a hand on her shoulder.

"Calm down, it's just that scallywag Shanks and his crew." Crocus assures her. This does nothing to stem the panic about how she's suppose to react to this man.

"Woo! That never gets old does it, Yasopp?" A man with red hair calls out cheerily to a crew member as he hurls himself over the railing of his ship, a bright smile firmly in place. The black coat he wears flutters briefly, showing that a good portion of his arm is missing. He sticks the landing and something in Sam snaps. The arm of the shirt is still torn and stained in blood despite the stump being covered in fresh bandages. It makes her wonder if he's even had it properly treated, and why he hasn't changed his shirt. _It's probably too painful_. _Especially if the shirt threads are sticking to the stump by the accumulation of drying blood. Or it could be staunching some of the bleeding along with the bandages._

Her mind automatically starts listing various infections he could have that could have worked their way through his blood system if he sailed through East Blue. From Goa to Reverse Mountain was at least a couple weeks, though that could be cut down considerably by the type of boat being sailed. She mentally thanked Crocus for beating the information on infectious diseases into her head. It would cut down on time and treatment if she knew if he was experiencing any symptoms. The only thing she could notice off the top of her head was the pallor of his skin, and the dark circles under his eyes. Which could mean everything and nothing.

"Never, Captain!" A man with blond hair laughs as he ties up the sails, interrupting her thoughts.

Sam knows she needs to treat the wound as soon as possible, did they not have a doctor on that damn ship? She couldn't remember one in the anime, but there were a bunch of faceless guys that could have been the doctor. Still why was it not treated yet? Was their doctor not experienced enough? Did he not trust anyone in Foosha to take care of the aftermath? _Of course not, a Yonko doesn't go around trusting everyone with his health, and his crew probably has little to no medical knowledge to see if the doctor was keeping to their word, or even know if the person knows what their doing. He also probably has a tight connection with Crocus if they sailed on the same ship._

Frustrated, she shakes off Crocus' hand. Sam walks over with a serious, and somewhat dumbfounded expression on her face. She wonders why the hell the man isn't rolling around in agony, because she certainly would be at the moment. She knows its stupid to just approach a Yonko, but the man clearly had to be in pain, and he made no move to be violent in anyway. She also knew from previous knowledge that he was fond of kids. So, Sam had no reason to believe that this man would be violent if she went to try to talk to him about the injury. Plus, she just wanted to help him with an injury that would have crippled most people.

Standing in front of the man she frowns as she looks up at him. She notices the way the three scars that cover his eye tighten when he raises a questioning eyebrow.

"Er, Captain Shanks? Right? You do realize that it's common practice to have ripped off limbs treated immediately?" Sam asks carefully as she concentrates on the missing appendage. Watching as the man moves to cover the arm, Sam frowns and looks up to see his eyes. They were intimidating, and his aura made her want to faint. But she refused to do something so foolish. If she wanted to sail the Grand Line she would have to be a hell of a lot stronger than just fainting when standing in front of a non-threatening (at least at the moment) Yonko.

"Oh? Is that so?" The smile he gives her makes her feel like he is making fun of her. Sam is not amused and she can feel her lips twitch behind her mask in agitation.

"Yes, in the medical profession it's usually preferred that the patient receive immediate medical attention when having a limb eaten." Sam responds dryly. The man raises his other eyebrow and puts his hand on his chin like he's thinking hard about the answer. Yeah, she's definitely getting patronized. The crew coming up behind him makes her wary. She doesn't like facing a lot of people at once, especially ones that could, you know, stop a war just by arriving. But, she stands her ground.

"Hm, interesting. And what makes you think that this arm was eaten and not just cut off, little girl?" Sam narrows her eyes at the insult and bites her lip to keep from snapping at the man to get to the medical room in the lighthouse so she can make sure he's not going to die in the next few days. Logically, she knew the guy was going to be fine. However, that didn't stop her from remembering the illnesses that ravage the bodies of weaker people who did get attacked by sea monsters. It was disturbing and she hated it every time it happened.

"I could tell by the tears in the shirt and the blood stain pattern. Sword wounds are a straight cut and have a different blood spray pattern. Your cloak fluttered open when you jumped off the ship. Which, I would advise you not to do again until the wound is tended to. If I had to take an educated guess it was a sea monster, or a rather large animal. However, the fact you are pirates and just sailed Reverse Mountain I would put my money on a sea monster. They can carry a lot of bacteria in their mouths and cause permanent damage to the body through infection. If you would please follow me to the medical room, I can see what I can do for you in terms of healing and pain management." Sam states this all in a monotonous tone as she stands in front of the pirate captain. Trying to keep her nervous twitching to a minimum she stares back at the man, waiting for an answer. A couple of his crew stand behind them as they watch the interaction in mild amusement, but they stay quiet and wait for their Captain's decision. She can also tell that Crocus is watching the play-by-play while coming up behind her.

"Man, you do drive a hard bargain. Well, what do you say Benn, think we have time for the girl to treat this?" Sam looks behind Shanks to notice a man with a large rifle resting on his shoulder and a cigarette hanging out of his mouth. Damn, she wonders if she can steal a pack before they leave. But, she's sure Crocus would have her ass if she ever even tried it. What the hell is it with pirates blocking her access to nicotine! You'd think because they are pirates that they would...Her rant in her head is cut off when Benn responds.

"Yeah, suppose we do, we have no place to really be at the moment, Captain." Shanks turns back to Sam and smiles widely.

"Well, it looks like you're in luck!" He tells her cheerfully, and she refuses to smile in return, but damn is that smile infectious. Sam nods and grabs him by the hand. She can already tell that he's going to be one of _those_ patients that won't listen to the doctor. And, yeah, Sam is the doctor. Yonko or not Shanks was going to have to listen to her so he didn't go do something like die because of a bacterial infection, that was just shameful.

But knowing him he would think it all a big joke, _World Government can't kill me, but the bacteria off a sea monster can, how weak are you guys? Dahahahaha._ Sam shakes her head free of those thoughts as she brings him into the lighthouse.

The inside of the lighthouse isn't really that big. It had a medical bay on the ground floor, and one bedroom at the very top. Crocus rarely used it, preferring to stay inside Laboon if he needed to be calmed through the night. Which seemed to be happening less often than when she first arrived. Crocus told her that she was a part of that, but she doubts this.

Leading him to the medical bay she can sense Crocus lagging behind, she can tell that he's talking with someone. She briefly takes a read on the unconscious patient also in the room. She notices that all of his vitals are stable, and he was in a deep healing coma. Sam changes her white mask to prevent the spreading of germs, as well as getting a bottle of the sterilization compound she used when cleaning wounds, scissors, bandages, and the anesthetic she would need, she then washes her hands to replace her gloves.

Turning around she notices that Shanks has already taken as seat and was waiting on her. His black cloak resting on a chair next to the bed. She notices that the ripped part of the shirt is indeed wrapped in bandages as well. Most likely it was stuck to the limb by blood and he didn't want to wreck any clot that did happen which, in turn, could cause him to bleed out.

Setting her needed supplies on the table next to the bed she gently cuts the shirt off of his body, being careful not to move his arm too much. She then unwraps what remains of the limb to check the wound. She has to pause as she sees that he has it covered completely in haki. Pursing her lips, she glares up at him from her eyelashes. She's tempted to scream at the man, but resigns herself to the fact, pirates would always be clueless.

"You know, this would have been a lot easier if you just told me you had been covering the arm in haki to prevent infection, I wouldn't have been half as worried, but you still need it worked on, I doubt you've slept in the past couple days by keeping it in that state." Sam comments as she gives him the anesthetic, but not enough to knock him on his ass. She doubts he would appreciate that, honestly if the man isn't already rolling around on the floor, he has an incredibly high pain tolerance. Also, she doubts he trusts any other doctors with this other than Crocus if he waited so long to be treated.

Shanks gives her a considering stare as she comments on his use of haki.

"You up for this Captain Shanks?" Sam asks as she starts to inspect his arm. The red head continues to look at her and it reminds her of the time she first met Crocus, but at the same time not. Not as dramatic, and more intimidating. Maybe it was a pirate thing, to stare down everyone and anyone. Sam feels the need to break the silence.

"If you're concerned about my age or skill, I could always have the old man do it. He'll be watching me the entire time anyway." Sam takes the time to point up to Crocus leaning on the stair railing leading up to the top of the lighthouse observing their interaction.

"Either way, it needs to be treated and I am assuming that's why you're here in the first place?" Sam questions as she starts checking for a pulse close to where she would need to cut the extra skin away, because no matter what she does, he's still going to have some gnarly scars. She then starts to check the skin temperatures of the skin around the amputation and with those of the other arm. As well as looking for areas of reddened skin. Making sure that there is no sign of an infection building.

"Nah, I'm not worried. Just curious. Crocus isn't the type to just take on anyone as an apprentice. I remember one time while we were sailing through an Autumn island on the Grand Line and a boy, maybe a bit older than yourself, wanted him to teach him to become a doctor. He declined, saying that the kid was too young and hadn't seen enough of the world to understand the difference between being a doctor and being a pirate doctor." Sam swallows hard and glances away from his analyzing eyes. She can remember begging the man to teach her so she would never be useless again when her friends were threatened. So that she wasn't always worrying her loved ones, that she could fight alongside them and not as a meat shield.

"Maa, I think it has more to do with the idea of strength in what determines a pirate doctor from a regular doctor." Sam pauses and bites her lip trying to find the words to describe what she's trying to say.

"Being strong isn't about putting yourself in the line of fire for others, or staying behind and waiting to run damage control. It's about being able to stand next to your friends and fighting alongside them until the very bitter end." She starts out slow and haltingly, but as she keeps going the more her thoughts are crystallizing in her mind. The ideas were just waiting for her to put a voice to what Crocus has been teaching her over the past two years.

"Fighting is a necessity, when out in the sea, there is no choice. It's either your friends or your enemy. There is no middle ground. While I would certainly prefer not to harm, I know the name of the game, and I was already in too deep by the time I was five. I may not be physically strong, but I sure as hell know how to fire a gun, block attacks, and pinpoint locations." Sam thinks about how many times Crocus had run her into the ground making sure she retained everything he was teaching her during their time together. Her heart feels lighter the more she thinks about it. She honestly never had an adult figure to look up to, but Crocus came pretty damn close.

"You have to fight for what you want and hold on to it with both hands, least some bastards think that they can take it from you." The faces of Doflamingo, Outlook III, and her not-mother flash through her mind's eye and her teeth clench at the thought.

"Crocus allowed me to get stronger. For some strange reason, he saw it in himself to help me grow. I want to get back to my brother's. For that to happen, I have to be stronger, and get even more stronger after that. Because, while I know me being with them is a danger to them, I can't find it in myself to stay away from them any longer. I want to see them again, and help them grow stronger. Those idiots want to be pirates, so who better to help them than a person whose already set sail." Sam gives a soft smile behind her mask as she starts to sterilize the stump. Usually, she's more tight lipped about her brothers, but she knew this man gave up the very arm she's treating for the next generation. He wasn't in the World Government's pocket, and he knew when to keep his trap shut. It's quiet for a couple minutes before Shanks decides to start speaking again, Sam looks up from what she's doing to see that he's giving her a look. One that is similar to the one that Ace gave her when he was about to do something that would give her a migraine with the amount of trouble it caused.

"Sail with my crew," Sam pauses and goes wide-eyed. Her mind short circuits and decides now is a fine time to go on a vacation, without her permission. Her thoughts are a mess, and she's staring stupidly up at the man. Eventually, higher brain function reboots and she feels even more confused.

"Ehh? You not hear me, old man? I want to get back to my brothers, not sail the Grand Line. I mean, yeah I want to sail the Grand Line, just not without one of my brothers at my side. I admit, I have a bit of a sibling complex." She stares at the man confused at his train of thought.

"Dahahahaha, you're a cheeky brat! No, no I said sail with me and my crew. For at least a year, I just recruited a rookie doctor on my ship. He's pretty useless at the moment, but damn, does he make me some good grog! I need you to train him, and I like your attitude. I'll get you to your brothers, so long as you tutor my ships doctor. I know Crocus won't set foot back in the Grand Line to teach one of my crew. But, his cute little student might if she has a way to get back to her brothers." Pursing her lips, Sam starts to think that Luffy got his recruiting habits from Shanks. It was kind of like how he recruited Zoro when he was being held by the Marines and held his swords hostage.

"Do you even know my name?" Sam asks incredulously. Shanks looks confused at the question before shrugging and smiling a wide toothy grin. Like that answered anything!

"Nah, wanna tell me?" He leans in eager to know her name, Sam forces herself not to facepalm, knowing that the only thing that would get her is a face full of blood and more problems. Sighing, she shakes her head in exasperation before applying more anesthetic to his arm.

"My name is Sam, and before you get any ideas about me sailing with you, you should probably know that until Crocus releases me I am still his apprentice." Sam admits as she starts to remove the diseased tissue, shirt threads, and any crushed bone from the wound, which there is a ton of due to the immense force on the jaws of a sea serpent. Its gross and time consuming, but necessary. She takes notice that he stills before giving her another considering and analyzing look that makes her shiver at the immense power his eyes hold. _Observation haki_ her mind whispers.

"You don't say! You're the infamous Skull Slam Sam, aren't you? Dahahaha, Crocus you crazy old bastard! I haven't seen the Government that up in arms over a kid since the escape of Nico Robin! Now you're her teacher! Dahahaha!" Sam scowls at the moniker and the fact that her patient is moving during a precise procedure.

"Damn it, Shanks! Stop moving so much, the last thing you need is me fucking this up and nicking an artery or some shit! And the papers came up with that stupid name. I never once referred to myself as that!" Yelling behind her mask. Sam mourns that she can't summon any clones at the moment due to her hands being full.

She promised herself that she would get him back later, maybe lace his booze with something. Or, making a concoction that would temporarily make alcohol ineffective for a time. Yeah, that sounded good.

"Laugh it up, Red Hair. It's still my apprentice you're trying to snatch from me." Crocus calls down dryly from his unmoving place at the top of the lighthouse stairs.

"Awe, come on old man! I need a good teacher for the rookie! I picked him up from East Blue. Can't stitch worth a damn, but dreams of being a doctor! Dahahaha, but he's a superb grog maker. You know I can't say no to a good brew!" Sam's eye is twitching at the reality of what she would be going into if she did sail with the Red-Haired pirates. The things she did for her brothers.

"Shut it, you degenerate. You're stressing out my apprentice." Crocus calls lazily from where he's standing.

Shanks looks back down, probably noticing her tense face. Yeah, fixing an amputation after the fact is pretty stressful when the person is awake, and not knocked out. But it's nothing compared to the open heart surgery that she once watched Crocus complete.

"Ehh, oh, sorry 'bout that!" He smiles genuinely and Sam feels her ire leave her. She's just tired now and needs to sleep to recalibrate her mind.

"S'fine," Sam mumbles as she settles back down so she can continue her work in silence. She can tell the man is still in pain by the tensing of his jaw and muscle spasms, but she also knows that he would refuse being knocked out on principle for the procedure. Crocus would have interfered if he though any differently.

She starts to smooth uneven areas of bone where the sea creature had broken it into fragments. Finally, she seals off blood vessels and nerves, and makes sure the skin is closed and even.

It's taken her a few hours, and she's still tired from the surgery this morning to this. But, she finishes in time for one of Shanks crew to announce dinner. Rewrapping his wound with fresh bandages, she finally lets him loose on the world again. She doesn't have the energy to fight with the captain at the moment. Sam starts to clean things up as she listens to the crew partying outside.

Ignoring the clop of Crocus' flip flops on the metal stairs, she continues to sterilize the room.

"Brat," he starts as he begins to help her toss out the old bandages, and to change the bed coverings.

"Sup', Old man?" She asks as she wraps up the trash for disposing. It was never smart to keep things with open blood on them around the lighthouse. It was a bio-hazard risk, and could be easily avoided. Sam is knocked from her thoughts at Crocus words.

"Leave with the scallywag. Find your family, and for once in your life be happy. The last thing I want hanging around here is a bitter angsty teenager. You know the basics. Build off of that. The next time I see you, I want to see improvements on both armament and observation haki. Not this basic bullshit. I also want you to keep up with your medical knowledge. Keep seeking the truth of this world, Sam, and you will find all the answers you need to achieve your dream." Pausing in her attempts to put new sheets on the bed she looks up at Crocus. Did he know of her dream?

Looking back at Crocus she notices the knowing look in his eyes.

"You didn't think the doctor of the Roger Pirates wouldn't notice that look you have. When I first met you I saw it burning in your eyes brighter and stronger than I've seen since sailing with Roger. You see the injustice in this world, and have been on the wrong side of it for far too long for being so young. I can tell you that you'll be something special, you just have to find the right fit somewhere. Whether that's with the Red-Haired Pirates or someone else, find your place and follow your dream with the ferocity that you took to my teachings." The old man smirks as he finishes making the bed. Sam bites her lip and refuses to let the tears building up behind her eyes to fall. Clearing her throat she looks back up at the doctor. She's unsure how he knew that she knew that he was a former Roger Pirate, but unless he was calling her on the information she would ignore it for the moment.

"What about Laboon? Will he be alright with me leaving?" Sam asks as she changes the pillow cases on the bed. The doctor had told her all about the Rumbar Pirates and their leaving of Laboon. She remembers the mournful wails echoing throughout the night, and the fits that would come on suddenly without warning. Laboon wasn't really in a stable mind set at the moment. Crocus scoffs at her question.

"That old whale will be just fine, but make sure you tell him goodbye. He's grown fond of you. I have no doubt that you'll somehow make your way back here." Walking around the bed Crocus is stood in front of Sam. Turning to look up at her mentor she sees that he is looking down at her with a fond smile.

"Take a seat, Sam. You have a mark that needs changing, do you not?" Confused for a second at the swift change in topic, the grotesque black image of the Donquixote Pirates jolly roger flash is in her mind not a second later. Sam clenches her jaw hard and nods in agreement. Slipping on to the bed she offers Crocus her wrapped arm. It was the only way to hide the mark. Using make up was to costly, and frankly she just hated looking at it at all. She felt sick to her stomach every time she had to take a shower or change her clothes. Crocus carefully unravels the bandage to get a view of the tattoo.

"I saw the notes you left in Laboon, and I agree that excision is the best chance. It will leave a large scar but I think you had a design already planned did you not? You can heal the skin in a matter of an hour with the multiplication properties and salves. Not that I agree with that method in the long term, at all. But I can see that it is a valid way when you're in a rush or doing a patch job. I also acknowledge that you have a firm grasp over cellular structure. So you won't inadvertently kill someone by turning their body against them. You also know that the old fashioned way of letting the body to heal on its own is always best. Though, I also know that that red-headed degenerate will want to leave by late tomorrow to avoid tails. Little idiot was risking a lot by dragging his carcass here. So, we'll do it the fast and dirty way. Think of it as your apprentice present." Crocus tells her as he goes over to the sink to wash his hands. Sam nods and pulls out her small notepad with the sketch of her wanted tattoo. It really was a rough sketch, Crocus was the more artistic of the two of them and she was sure he would add his own flair to the tattoo.

* * *

Ace stares down at the cry baby that his shitty Gramps brought with him. He can't help but to think of Sam, and what she would think of this little brat. Knowing her she'd probably make the kid her next new moving target. But sometimes Sam was weird, and held a soft spot for small things. Like baby animals, the kid kind of reminded him of a new foal, just starting to get used to his limbs and he still stumbled around from time to time.

The fact that he was feeling anything for the brat was a cause for concern. Sabo and he had a pirate fund to collect so they could sail out and find Sam. After that they could go on their own adventures, but now that they knew for a fact that their sister was alive, and still causing trouble was a huge relief.

Sabo kept telling him that Sam was alive, and he just knew it in his heart. Well, Ace didn't have that same feeling. He didn't share the same bond with Sam as Sabo did. So, when that bounty came out it was like a weight had been lifted from his chest.

"Heyy, ACE!" Scowling down at the troublesome little idiot, Ace hops from tree to tree to avoid the menace.

He didn't have time to make friends with the little kid or babysit. No matter how much he chased after him. The brat couldn't possibly understand what he, Sabo, and Sam has gone through in the past few years. Ace felt horrible as he thought of all the terrible things that Sam would have been forced to do while he sat here safe and free on this island.

Weak, guilty, and useless are pretty good descriptions of feelings that have been plaguing him for the past couple of years. Not that he would ever admit to such things, but he knew the only reason that Sam turned herself over to the people who were searching for her was because of himself. If that didn't answer whether he should be alive or not, he didn't know what would. Pushing the thoughts away he dodges a stretching limb, and isn't that so freaking weird. Sure, he'd seen Sam's transformations to male, but this was a whole different fruit.

The brat was innocent and naive. He hasn't lost a best friend. He didn't know the feeling that came along with feeling responsible for that loss. No, the kid would never be welcomed because he was a distraction from the real goal of saving their sister. A sister who put herself through her worst nightmare for him, he didn't understand why anyone would do such a thing for him. But he would pay back that debt and more when he met up with her. They would be together once again, there was no other option. But in the meantime he needed to get stronger, because no way did she deserve that big a bounty! He can still remember pummeling her into the ground! How the hell did she get that strong!?

* * *

Shanks walks out of the lighthouse only to be met with his first mate sitting on the ground next to the doorway smoking a cigarette.

"So, Benn, wanna give me the rundown?" Beckman blows out a stream of smoke and looks up at his captain. He takes notice of the bags under his eyes. His Captain hadn't been getting sleep from keeping his haki constantly going. It was just their shit luck that their doctor was killed in a battle with Kaido two years ago. Shanks hadn't found it in himself to replace their doctor so soon, so they sailed in one of the weakest of the Blues to keep down on any injuries for the time being. They never expected their captain to give up an arm for the next generation. His captain was so troublesome sometimes.

"She's intelligent, and a fast adapter. Probably little to no parental guidance while growing up, and makes situations more bearable by molding herself to whatever the circumstances. She has strong lines of her own morality that she doesn't cross. Killing is not one of them, but from what I've read in the newspapers, I have a feeling that slavery is the one line she cannot cross. Freeing giants isn't something that just anyone does, people often don't view them as human. So, she sympathizes with them, she's been looked down on before, and can understand their struggle. Also, there is a pathological need to see that her brothers are safe. It's probably due to abandonment or some type of loss in early childhood. She understands how to analyze a situation and gets what needs to be done, done. Though it's tampered by her temper. She makes rash decisions and has outbursts when she feels like she's being cornered. Sort of like how an animal lashes out when it feels like it's being trapped. Probably from the time spent with Donquixote." Benn takes another inhale of smoke as he considers the situation. He was the tactician for the Red-Haired Pirates as well as the first mate. His boss needed the quick and fast details on a situation? He was the guy he turned to.

"Ah. So not an easy life. Do you think she'll help Otto out with his goal?" Shanks asks as he holds out a hand for his first mate to help him to his feet.

"Yeah, she understands that we are the way to her brothers, and she tries not to break promises if she doesn't have to. She is also fiercely loyal to people that have helped her. She'd make a good crew member, in time, if she was inclined to do so. But, she'd make an even better Revolutionary." Benn shrugs his gun back on his shoulder as they make their way to the Red Force.

"Why do you think the bounty's so high?" Shanks asks, a frown on his face. He knew the answer, but he wants confirmation nonetheless. Beckmen looks over to his captain and stares at him with the same frown that's marring the Captain's face.

"The Devil-Fruit, she's still just a kid, and from what I can tell she has no connections to Ohara nor does she have any delicate information that they'd want to suppress. It's what the government can do with such a power that they want her so badly. The possibilities are literally endless when you think on it enough." Beckmen pulls the cigarette bud from his mouth and stamps it out with a booted foot.

"Yeah, I thought the same. Just thought I'd see if you saw anything I didn't. I'll need to school her on subtlety with that fruit, least they start sending admirals or putting out buster calls on her head. She'll also need to keep the disguise for as long as possible. If people knew she was sailing with us it would be an unmitigated disaster." Shanks agrees as they climb up to the deck of the ship.

* * *

"To our guest, Sam!" Shanks holds up a bottle of sake, despite her multiple warnings that he really shouldn't mix the antibiotics he was on with alcohol.

"Kampi!" The shouts resound around her and she can feel her cheeks burn under her mask. People were cheering, laughing, and dancing aboard the Red Force. It felt like this was something that she would have to get used to.

Sam was never really a people person and having people surrounding her on all sides disconcerted her more than she would like to admit. She sips at her apple juice as she ignores the people stumbling and laughing. Honestly, despite it being a Red Force party, she was kind of bored. Which was pretty much a given seeing as she was being denied the good stuff because of her age. It stung her pride a little bit.

She can kill people, but she can't have a damn Rum and coke. Though she did manage to get her hands on Beckman's cigarettes when he was trying to reel in Shanks from diving off the ship when he suffered hallucinations after ignoring her first warnings about mixing the anesthetic with beer. She doubted the sake would have different effects with the antibiotics despite what the Captain thought. Benn would probably end up fishing him out of the toilet bowl come morning.

Swirling her apple juice in her glass she looks up and notices that the night sky was glowing with starlight and she wondered if her brothers were doing alright.

 _I'll be home soon, guys._

* * *

I don't think I need to tell you this, but still, this is not a how to guide on surgery. I researched and bullshitted a ton of stuff. But, I tried to make it at least a little realistic. I am _not_ a surgeon.

I really appreciate the feedback I get from you guys, whether that's in the form of a favorite, follow, or review. It always has me smiling because you take the time to do so. Anyway, gushy hug fest over and down to details.

The next chapter will include...Sailing with Red-Haired Shanks, which should be entertaining enough, flashbacks on Crocus, along with some action, Sam dealing with incompetence in the form of Otto the new trainee, the wrath of Benn Beckman when sneaky preteens steal his cigarettes, Shanks bonding and a bunch of other stuff that I have floating around in my head. Also, a cut back to Ace, Sabo, and Luffy.

Then, with luck, we'll be back with the ASL group the next 2-3 chapters. Then I think its time for Sam to twist things up with an Okama. (That sounds dirty, but it's totally not, I swear. That makes it sound worse-Damn...)


	16. Sailing Under the Red Flag

Sam sneaks away from the boisterous men that continue to party the night away and finds herself wandering the ship. They had to leave Twin Cape quickly after Crocus changed her tattoo. They couldn't even stay long enough for the Red-Haired pirates to dock for the night.

As soon as a ship started coming in from Whisky Peak they knew they couldn't stay. Sam's goodbye to Laboon was quick, with a soft hand, a kiss on the nose, and the promise to see him in a while. He looked depressed, even when she told him that it's a promise that she would keep no matter what. But still, the whale looked skeptical, if that was even possible. It was a real confidence booster when even whales doubted your ability to stay alive on the high seas. She would still find a way to return to Laboon in the future though, even if it was by rowboat because that whale deserved better.

Sam stops her wandering to stare at the rigging that would take her all the way up to the crows nest, she considers it a moment before shrugging. She starts climbing her way to the top. The view from atop the ship was beautiful. Sam could see the stars way better all the way up here. She could only vaguely recall trying to see the stars at night during her last life, though the city lights always obstructed her view. But, here, here they were shining so brightly that she felt like she could get sucked into the sky itself.

Sam was just small enough to lay out in the crows nest to stare up at the sky. She lights a cigarette, ignoring the coughing on the first couple inhales, and gazes up at the stars that decorate the night, just relaxing. The voices of the crew cheering, laughing, and joking filter up from the main deck but are just white noise at the moment. It was a nice sound. It didn't remind her of the utter silence of the Outlook mansion, or Jora's and Trebol's bitching on the Donquixote ship.

Yeah, she could get used to this so long as she could find some solitude from time to time. Sam goes to light another cigarette from the box, but her view is suddenly turned upside down and she's left staring at gray pant legs and black combat boots. Her stomach briefly protests the sudden shift, but she's able to calm it quickly enough to prevent any accidents.

Using the muscles, she got from training with Crocus, Sam pulls herself up far enough to be met with the glowering face of Benn Beckman. Yeah, she really should have thought about his reaction before stealing from the notorious pirate. Though in her defense, she'd thought he'd think that he had just misplaced them. She's pretty sure that Shanks wouldn't allow him to kill her. But she totally forgot about the whole maiming aspect in the face of nicotine. Still, she feels like she regrets nothing.

"I would apologize, but I think you and I both know that it would be a complete and utter lie." Sam states in all seriousness. Ignoring the blood rushing to her head and how hard the guy was gripping her ankle. Fuck, she was going to pass out at this rate.

"Where the hell did you even pick up smoking?" He asks as he leans against the rail and takes a puff of the cigarette she'd already lit. How did he even take it from her so fast! Sam scowls at the confiscated nicotine, and pouts as much as she can while being held upside down by her ankle.

"Through stress and taking care of too many people. What about yourself?" Sam asks as she tries to make herself comfortable before giving it up like a bad job. She resigns herself to wrapping her other ankle around the man's hand and lifting herself into a sit up position whenever her head starts to pound too badly.

"Stress, and hunger pains." He comments around a cigarette. Sam nods and sighs loud and long. She's kind of bored just hanging here by her feet, and she still wants that second cigarette.

"How long you gonna keep me here?" Sam asks as she pulls herself up into another crunch when it feels like her brain is going to explode from hanging upside down for so long. Fuck, she might as well count this as a work out while she's at it. Sam moves her eyes to the man and is unsettled by the sly little smirk on his lips, the cigarette hanging out of the side of his mouth does nothing to help the slight terror she feels at the smile.

"Seeing as you're new to the Red-Haired pirates, I'll let you get off with a warning this time. But, one of the rules on this ship is never touch my cigarettes. Unless you want my special brand of punishment. That includes hanging the offender by their ankles from the foremast while I smoke the rest of my cigarettes. Understand, little lady?" Sam's eyes widen at the sheer cruelty of such an act. She couldn't even imagine the vertigo that would cause. It would have her head pounding for weeks! It could also induce a brain hemorrhage if he wasn't careful. She quickly nods her head, ignoring the pulsing behind her eyes.

"Glad you agreed, as for how long I'm going to hold you here till, well I got about five left. So, you better get ready for the long haul." Sam dramatically wails in her head that she's going to die right here in a crowsnest due to her bad smoking habit. Maybe Corazon was right, and she should just stick with suckers until she's older and can buy them on her own.

"If you want me to keep my hands off yours and the crews' cigarettes while I sail with you I'm going to need suckers, a whole lot of suckers." Sam nods and the stabbing pain in her head has her doing another sit up midair. Beckman raises an eye in question. Sighing she slowly lets herself drop back down to just hanging there like a dead fish.

"Corazon, from the Donquixote Pirates, wouldn't let me smoke either. So, he would get me suckers for something to do with my mouth, besides bitch at people non-stop. Those are Law's words, not his. He always did have a way with words. I kind of miss the fluffy hatted jerk." Sam mutters to herself. But she can't really focus on the memories now because her head feels like it's going to explode again, she forces herself to do another mid-air sit up to try to lessen the flow of blood to her brain. Beckman snorts before stubbing out what she now notices is his second to last cigarette. How did he smoke the rest so fast?! That must cost a fortune!

"I'll see what we can do at the next island we're on, I'm pretty sure Hard Rock Island has some good candy stores." He comments as he starts on the last cigarette.

"Thanks, what should I call you? I usually give someone a name, but I have a feeling you wouldn't put up with that for very long. I would like to avoid an encounter like this in the future if it's at all possible." Beckman gives her a curious look, probably debating on if he wanted to ask or not.

"And just what nickname were you planning on giving me, little lady?" He asks before flicking the stub of his last cigarette over the side of the crowsnest and flipping her right side up, so she stood on her feet. Feeling a massive head rush, Sam barely keeps herself from throwing up all over the man.

"The first one that comes to mind is sadist, the second is ponytail. I usually use the first thing that I notice about a person. You're the only one with a ponytail on the crew." Sam grunts as she holds her stomach to prevent from tossing her cookies. Beckman rolls his eyes before looking over the edge of the crowsnest.

"My name is Beckman, use it." He tells her before leaping over the side of the nest. Sam's eyes widen, and she glances over the edge where he just jumped. She immediately notices that he's now standing next to Shanks who was currently having a fist fight with a wall. Sam sighs before moving to make her way down from her perch.

She waves away some of the other pirates that gather in worry around the captain. Though most of the crew are already passed out on the main deck.

"Oi, is Captain going to be alright?" A man with blond hair, and a bandanna that announces to the world that his name is 'Yasopp', asks her quietly. Sam watches as Shanks eventually falls over into a dead faint, and she can't help but sigh at the captain.

"Beckman, Yasopp can you get him to the medical bay. He'll have to sleep off the effects. This is why I didn't want him mixing medication with alcohol." Sam grumps as she follows the men to the infirmary. She takes a moment to wonder where the doctor she's supposed to be training is, and why he isn't following her.

As soon as he's set on the bed Sam checks his vitals to see his heart rate is slightly above average, but it wasn't anything to be worried about at the moment. She ignores the man's sleepy mumbling about "Fucking Kaido," "Gimme back my Makino," and "Damn Blackbeard to hell and back," Sam shakes her head in exasperation. For all that this guy was a powerful and dangerous pirate, he was also still just a man with emotions.

Sam tracks Beckman and Yasopp with her haki as they take a seat on the worn couch in the back of the room. They watch her carefully as she writes down Shanks' vitals in the chart Crocus started for her. Feeling uncomfortable at the almost glaring coming from the sharpshooter Sam shifts her body away from the man.

"I'm not going to hurt Captain Shanks. I was trained by the old man. I know what I'm doing. By the way, where's this guy I'm supposed to be training?" Sam grumpily snaps at the blond. Putting the chart on the end of the bed, she turns to the men, crossing her arms in irritation. She looks to them for answers on her missing trainee. She really shouldn't have started with the cigarettes, one was not enough to calm her jittery nerves.

Beckman rolls his eyes and Yasopp goes red, rubbing at the back of his neck. Most likely in embarrassment, but Sam has a hard time understanding what he has to be so embarrassed about, she asked about the new guy, not whether he like the left or right side of the bed. Sam waits, and she waits, and she waits. She keeps staring the guy down, looking for an answer to the question she just asked.

"Eh, he may or may not be passed out on the front deck?" He tells her awkwardly. Sam prays for patience as she holds the bridge of her nose. She can already feel the tension headache starting in her forehead. Gritting her teeth, she looks back up at the blond to make sure she is clear on the situation.

"So, you're telling me that this guy, who knows that his Captain is not in peak health is busy getting drunk off his ass?" Sam demands her questions to be answered. The nods she gets in response has her glowering in irritation and rage.

"What does he look like?" She questions as she places her hands on her hips. Unconsciously letting her pissed off aura encompass her in a thick fog.

"B-black bandana, white gloves, and blond hair." Yasopp looks at her like she's the devil himself. Nodding she stalks off in search of her prey.

"Hey, Beckman?" Yassop calls out carefully to his friend, staring at where the girl just stormed off out of the room.

"Hm," Beckman turns his eyes toward his crewmate to notice that he was shivering slightly.

"How can someone so short, be so terrifying?" He asks as he looks back at the first mate. Wondering if it was so smart to let the girl train the rookie. Yassop is pretty sure Otto would be chewed up and spit out by that little girl.

"It's because we know, small or not, that girl trained under Crocus and survived the pirating underworld. No matter what she looks like, she has a strength that can only be achieved through pain, intelligence, and determination. It's sometimes daunting to see that in a girl so young." Beckman tells him and, yeah, Yasopp can see that. The horrified scream that echoes through the ship just has chills running down his back. Note to self: don't piss off the little doctor.

* * *

Otto had been having a really great time sailing with the Red-Haired pirates, he was happy that Shanks agreed to help him with following his dream. Most people just laughed at him and ignored his ambitious plans. They all thought he was going to stay a bartender for the rest of his life, never the doctor he always wanted to be. Then Shanks came along, all smiles and cheer.

Shanks listened to him, and his dream. Otto knew basic herbal concoctions, from salves to pain medication. He feels like he's been useful on the ship so far, but then his Captain had to go and get his arm eaten. Otto was at a total loss as to what to do when this happens, he's never faced such an injury in all the time he's sailed with the crew.

They powered through the entirety of East Blue. All the way to Reverse mountain, and to Twin Cape. Where they were met with a short strawberry blonde girl, one with a hot temper that nearly rivaled Big Mom's at her worse. Granted, he'd never seen the Yonko in person, but he had heard stories from the others. Perhaps it's a bit of an exaggeration, but the position he finds himself in now has him screaming in fear.

The tiny girl pinches his ear with an armament lined hand and drags him to the medical bay.

"Ouch, ouch, ouch! Watch the merchandise, kid!" This just has her twisting his ear harder and dragging him even faster. When they reach the medical bay, he's thrown into a chair. He notices that Beckman and Yassop were in the room watching everything. _Oh, thank goodness, they could put an end to this madness._ Otto thinks to himself. He later realizes just how wrong he was to make such assumptions.

Even through the barrier of her glasses he can feel the full force of her gaze.

"Do you even know the first rule of being a doctor on a pirate ship, you idiot!" Sam growls at the man. He tries shifting away, but he's stuck in the chair. There's nowhere to move to get away from the terror that is 4 feet 3 of unleashed fury. Eventually, he shakes his head in the negative.

"If the Captain or a crew mate is actively unwell you are their first line of defense. You always stay near someone who is sick, THAT IS YOUR JOB. If we were to take on enemy fire at this very moment, where the hell would you be right now? You'd be on the front deck completely out of it, and the Captain would have no one to figure out how to make sure he's standing and well enough to fight! Beckman is the first mate, it's his job to lead the fight if Captain is out of it, and the responsibility of the crew to fight along with him. Who do you think is responsible for making sure the Captain is protected when he can't currently defend himself?!" The little doctor shouts. Otto isn't sure where she's gotten all this information but it makes sense. It would probably be something he knew if he'd been trained formally by the pirate king's doctor. Unfortunately, not everyone was that lucky.

"You not only put your captain in danger, but the whole crew as well! Get it through your head and be quick while you're at it: You are a PIRATE DOCTOR. There is a large difference between a doctor, and a pirate doctor. If I see you drink even one more beer in the next week I'm going to play, 'can you dodge the haki infused punch?' Do you comprehend what I am telling you?" The girl demands as she gets right in his face. He knows his eyes are wide, because honestly the girl was a little frightening. But he nods in agreement.

"You have _no_ idea how pleased I am to know that you understand. Now, clean this room until it's spotless. I can already see some of the ingredients that are compromised just by the plastic bag they're being stored in; you need to store that shit in 190 proof alcohol and glass if you want to use that on an open wound. Get to work, I have a patient to watch over now." The little doctor tells him in a mildly pleasant tone. But everyone in the room can still hear the edge of the unpleasantness that might befall them if they argue with her commands.

Otto feels like a chastised puppy as he goes about following the mini-Big Mom's orders. He refuses to acknowledge the muffled laughter coming from Beckman, or the sympathetic eyes that Yasopp sends his way. He's not sure if he's going to make it the year if he has to listen to the mini-dictator. Hell, his own mom wasn't even this bad!

But if what she said was right then he should be listening. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if his actions resulted in harm coming to the crew or his captain. The only people who believed in his dream.

* * *

It's been three months since Sam temporarily joined his crew. The changes in Otto are already significant. It was exactly what he was looking for when he recruited her. He needed his doctor at least Grand Line ready as soon as possible, it didn't help that he and Big Mom were currently fighting over a territory he owned that made cherry clafoutis "to die for, literally."

Shanks was all for keeping the peace, but the people on that island just suffered a rebuilding effort after a tsunami. The last thing they needed was a bat-shit insane Charlotte Lin Lin banging at their door for dessert.

"How many times do I have to tell you Otto! Not so tight with the stitches, they're going to end up tearing the skin!" The hiss of pain that echoes through the med bay is now familiar. It usually indicated Sam flicking the doctor in the head with haki lined fingers.

"Damn it, you little dictator! So, help me god if you flick me one more time…" The sound of flesh hitting flesh resounds through the room and Otto lets out a roar of irritation. Shanks decides it's a good time to step in, lest Sam start thinking it's a good idea to experiment on Otto. She'd already come to him with the idea, citing that she had to keep her surgery skills sharp somehow.

"Oi, Sam stop terrorizing my doctor! You're supposed to be teaching him not yelling at him," The strawberry blonde girl gives him a blank look, or what he thinks is a blank face if the mask and glasses weren't hiding her face.

"What doctor? I see no doctor here other than myself. Are you talking about the rookie who couldn't stitch right even if he had a damn sewing machine? Incompetence should not be rewarded Shanks. Crocus had me stitching myself together after a harpoon went into my shoulder. This man, who claims to want to be a doctor, refuses to listen, maybe it's time I practiced my sharpshooting with Yasopp. Rookie here would be a fine target," she tells him this in a bland and clinical tone that has chills running down his spine. With her hands in her pocket and looking entirely nonchalant about shooting Otto. Why did Crocus have to choose the scariest little girl possible to teach.

"Isn't there a rule about not doing harm?" Shanks asks. The little doctor gives him a look. Kind of like the look Makino gave him when he told her about how Luffy got a scar under his eye.

"For your sake and mine, I will ignore that question. Now what do you need?" Sam asks as she quickly dismisses the restrained clone that the Rookie had been practicing on for the past hour.

Shanks watches as she moves around the room like she owns the place. Not that he minded all that much, he rarely, if ever came to the med bay. Though Otto was none too pleased at her domination of the room. Of course, she had to make it worse by adding pictures of half clothed male models to the walls and refused to remove them even after the complaints of the new crew members.

"I was actually hoping to talk to you about your Devil Fruit. Hey Otto, why don't you ask Lucky Roo to make some lunch for you. I know you missed out about an hour ago." Shanks offers. Otto gives him a look, telling him to reign the devil dictator in a bit before he has to return. The only people Sam listened to were himself and Beckman. As it really should be with any crew doctor.

The closing of a door has him walking over to the couch to have a seat and Sam pulls up a chair right in front of him.

"What did you want to talk about? I already consulted you when I wanted to use my clones for practice with Otto. I've kept it to the med bay and have always made sure the door is shut when I use it." Sam tells him as she removes her glasses and mask from her face. As well as pulling her hair out of her usual bun. Shanks has to think that she looks less intimidating without all the gear, more childlike, and less like a tiny adult. He knew that Luffy never acted anything like Sam, Shanks wasn't sure if to attribute that to her life growing up, being a girl, or even being older than Luffy. But it was still off putting to the crew when they were used to a carefree Luffy.

Sam unwraps the purple bandana she kept around her tattoo to pull her bangs back from her face. Shanks eyes dart down to the tattoo that the girl usually kept covered. Even after having seen it before it was still an odd design. The 'S' looked like two entwined 'S' so it looked more like a § in the middle of a spade with two black feathers in the background.

Sam unwraps a sucker and pops it in her mouth as she waits for him to start speaking. She looked much more relaxed when out of the disguise and smiled. He also noticed that she was more likely to tease him, and banter.

"I was actually hoping you could give me a brief rundown of what it is and what you can do with it, just so I know before I try to teach you to be subtle with the thing. You already have quite the price on your head." Shanks tells her as he leans back into the couch.

Sam pauses as she thinks about how to explain it in a concise way.

"The name of the fruit I have is called the More-More Fruit. It essentially allows me to copy or multiply anything I want. Whether that's bullets, myself, or more microscopic things like hormones or white blood cells. The only problem with it is there is a limit to my range. The things that I copy immediately disappear when they leave my vicinity. Whether that is money I create, or a patch I make in a wound.'

'From what I understand Corazon, one of the runaway family members of Donquixote, kept me close to him when I passed out, I think that's why his wounds didn't reopen. He stayed within my original minimum range. Of course, if I need to I can extend that range significantly using clones. But still, that over exerts my fruits abilities and ends up with me in a coma for 3 months.'

'If my original body is beyond repair I can switch to a clone if it's already made and has my devil fruit frequency cloned within it, but still that has me out of commission for a year. Not really conducive to sailing with a pirate crew if you can't even move out of bed..." Sam comments as she wraps up the empty sucker stick and shoves it in her pocket only to unopen a new one to shove it in her mouth.

She debates on whether to tell Shanks about the one aspect she never really experimented with… Then she looks at his stump of an arm, which had healed nicely in the past couple months. Making her decision she starts to talk.

"Theoretically, I can clone the Devil Fruit frequency of any Devil Fruit user if I clone their body… But, I don't want to try, if my theory is proven correct then my life is pretty much null and void. I think that's why the Government has the bounty so high. But if I factor in the amount of strain that happens with my changing of bodies, I have no doubt in my mind that I would pretty much be out of it for a good long while if I clone the Devil Fruit frequency of another Devil Fruit user. At least until I'm older, then I have no idea how to estimate the growth of the fruit. It's odd in the fact that it is already able to effect the world around me and not just myself, that's usually only seen in awakened Devil Fruits. So I really have no idea how to track the fruit." Sam flicks the sucker back and forth in her mouth as Shanks stares at her with hard, concerned eyes.

"So, you realize that you must keep the use of the Devil Fruit to a minimum, at least until you're stronger? I'm not talking about Grand Line powerful either, I'm talking more along the lines of New World powerful before you start flaunting it to the world." Shanks asks seriously. Sam crunches down on the rest of her sucker and nods.

"Also, the disguise you have now is good, but if someone focuses Observation Haki on you long enough they can see through it. So, while I understand having a temper, being stupid about it will only get you killed. You need to stay under the radar." Sam wraps the sucker stick in the wrapper and shoves it in her pocket with the other one. She already had an idea on what to do, because Sam knows herself all too well. Those two years with Crocus had done a lot more for Sam than just learning medical skills, haki, and sharpshooting.

She learned about herself while with the old man. That she was in a child's body and had the underdeveloped pathways in her brain that caused her to have fits of childish emotions. Despite what she thought when she was growing up, she was never really in complete control. And wasn't that a punch in the crotch. Yes, she still had the intellect and memories, but not the same type of control she had in her last life. It was the only answer for her blabbing, blowing her cover, and her risky actions. She didn't have parents that ever helped her control those emotions. That was true for both lives.

Sam herself had a naturally explosive temper when riled. But it got worse when there wasn't someone actively holding a gun to her head and telling her what to do. She also wasn't the type to go against her morals, granted she had very few, but the couple she did have she held to them with a detrimental fervor. While she didn't have a literal gun to her head at this point, she did have the threat of imprisonment, and harm coming to her family. That would stay her hand. Her control over her emotions was improving with time. Though that wouldn't stop her from flicking Rookie in the head with armament lined fingers. Thinking of the Rookie, she did have a question to ask Shanks.

"Say Captain, If I can't shoot Rookie with a gun, then what about a BB Gun?" She notices the large sweat drop form at the edge of his hairline. Sam smiles wide and dangerously.

"We'll see, back on topic though. What are you thinking about for the disguise when you get to your brothers and start sailing around? You realize one wrong move and you could bring a buster call on to the entire island?" Sam pokes her tongue into the side of her mouth as she thinks about for a while. She knew of only one way for a true disguise, one that wouldn't rely on her if she was ever distracted or injured.

She knew it wouldn't be too hard to convince the man to help her. The only thing she worried about was catching him in time at Shimotsuki Village. Then being quick enough to get back and help her brothers if they needed her. She knew how to sail a boat and navigate from her time spent with Crocus, but it was all a matter of timing. If she remembered right it was the day of the burning of the Gray Terminal that Ivankov was wandering around Shimotsuki Village.

"Well, I can't go giving away all the details. But I got a plan. I have a feeling you'll approve when you see it eventually." Sam bites her lip in anticipation of his reaction, it was just a shame that she wouldn't be there when it was revealed.

Shanks looks utterly unconvinced and worried. She knows he is allowed to be worried about anything that she plans, because her plans are either extremely successful, or a complete and utter clusterfuck. This time she's more inclined to believe the former and not the latter.

"Why do I have a feeling that I'm going to be terrifically amused at this?" Shanks asks in a deadpan.

"Maa, you seem to have no faith in me captain! You know that it's not going to be anything less than spectacular." This does nothing to calm the uneasy expression on his face. Not that she's exactly going for such a thing. So she only smiles back, unassumingly.

Her haki picking up on the rookie coming back to the med bay, has her snapping out of the staring contest with the captain. She removes her bandana from her hair and returns it back to her arm, She then replaces her glasses, mask, and ties her hair back up into a bun.

Shanks can literally see her entire disposition change to the detached clinical professional.

* * *

They were finally stopping off on an island after a few months at sea. Granted it is a desert island but still it was nice to have his feet on solid ground for the first time in how many months. Shanks is distracted from his thoughts when Sam tries to get his attention.

"Oi, Shanks! You have anything to block out the sun on this island? I can literally feel my scalp frying!" The red-headed captain looks over to her and he can see, from what little of her face is showing, that she's flushed red, and her skin which was usually a ghostly pale color, is also reddening under the harsh rays of the desert sun. Biting his lip he thinks about it for a second and looks around him to see if there was any clothes stores around their current area. Luckily for them there was a fishing shop.

"Hold up a minute, little doc. I'm sure I can find a hat somewhere in there." Shanks points over to the small little store. He runs over to the shop and he's able to find a relatively inexpensive blue bucket hat with a string attached. Smiling at the lady shop owner, he places the hat on the counter. He ignores the way she bats her eyes at him and her coy smile. She was pretty but nowhere near Makino's level beauty. Shanks blinks his eyes in bewilderment at the brief flash of thought and shakes his head to get rid of anymore weird ideas.

The woman rings up the hat, and Shanks slaps the money down and shoves the hat on his head. Smiling at the woman who was giggling at the action, he salutes her, and heads out of the store. As soon as he exits he notices that Sam is leaning against a shaded wall, panting. Shanks frowns and goes over to help her. He takes off the soft blue bucket hat and fits it over her head.

"Sam, when was the last time you had something to drink… This is a desert island, you need to stay hydrated especially on these types of islands. Even if it is called Oasis Isle" Shanks can just tell she's giving him a look and he tilts his head to the side. The sigh she gives is one of exasperation and exhaustion.

"I know that…I just forget to eat or drink sometimes when I'm distracted." Shanks nods his head in understanding. Still though, he's sure that Crocus had beaten it into her head to keep up her health, if not just for herself, but the rest of the crew as well.

"Well, don't keep forgetting! Crocus would have my ass if anything ever happened to you. Now, why don't you go back to the ship and rest a bit, try to take a nap, and cool down for a while. Otto can restock the medical supplies, he needs to learn things like that, right?" Shanks smiles at her no doubt scowling face.

"Tch, like I could trust that rookie with anything." Sam grumps back at him, and he has to grin even wider because, 'was that the slightest bit of fondness he was hearing!?'

"Ahh, come on Sam! Otto has been working really hard these past few months, has he not?" Shanks teases the little doctor a bit.

"Pft, dolt still can't stitch for shit! But he does know his plants and he does know what we need. So, I suppose I could entrust him with such things…Never tell him I said that!" Shanks just smiles even wider, and makes a crossing motion over his heart with his finger. If he had another hand he'd be crossing his fingers behind his back.

"Cross my heart!" He tells her cheerfully. He's totally telling Beckman that Sam is fond of Otto, and they're going to be best friends forever. The expression of irritation that would cross his first mates face would be well worth the face shove of exasperation.

"You're a horrible liar, Shanks. I swear to god if I wake up to you telling everyone I can actually stand rookie, I'm spiking all the alcohol with the sobering concoction!" Shank's stomach feels like it drops about a thousand feet at the realization that she would do it, because she had done it before when he teased her about her scar on her lip.

Asking her if she came down on a ham bone too hard to get the scar was, in hindsight, a bit stupid and insensitive. But the look she always gave him asking him if he was "actually that stupid" was the best. It was also a great way to have her break the character she'd built with Crocus and the Donquixote Pirates. Doflamingo deserved more than a few punches to the junk for the amount of damage he still saw with Sam.

Crocus tried to give him a few hints before they left Twin Cape about nightmares, being sensitive to people being next to her or touching her, claustrophobia, hating rope anywhere near her when it didn't include the rigging of the ship. She especially hated the clear white strings that they had for fishing line. Crocus had already managed to get her used to the thread for stitching wounds. But, she slowly let go of her fear of string being next to her by exposing her to it in bits and chunks so she now ignored it being next to her.

She still hated it when people touched her, and would tense up whenever someone was behind her. She couldn't stand it whenever someone sniffed too close to her ear, or teased her about being too boyish, and told her to be more girly. She also got unusually violent when sparring with a crewmate who tried to restrain her arms or legs too tightly for too long.

"Geeze, little doctor! Calm down, I won't tell too many people, but I have to tell Beckman! He's going to be stoked!" Shanks leans down to smile in her face, because he does see the little lip twitch behind the mask when he did so, despite her best efforts to hide it.

"God, how the hell did you ever become a Yonko!" Sam grumbles as she adjusts her hat and pouts. Shanks just throws his head back in good humor.

"That's what I've been asking myself this entire time! I guess I'm just a likeable guy! Dahahaha!" Sam shakes her head and moves past him back to the ship.

"Maa, you're such a pest Shanks! I'll send Otto your way, make sure he doesn't get side track by stupid stuff. We really do need the medical supplies if we want to make it all the way to Chopstick Island safely." Shanks smiles at the fond exasperation in her voice and the light worry for the crew. Sam was slowly changing from the bitter isolated girl they first got. She was still a grumpy little thing, but she was less likely to shoot someone out of a fit of temper. Granted that said nothing for the enemy, but at least her allies were safe from mutilation.

* * *

"Alright, midget Doc! You wanna learn some sharpshooting? Well I suppose since we're traveling through this mountain pass that we have plenty of things to shoot at! Yosh! Grab your gun and we'll get set up in the crows-nest!" Yassop exclaims happily as he pulls his own pistols from his own holders. Sam thinks that no one has a right to be that excited but she follows his orders anyway.

As soon as they were up in the crows-nest they were looking up at the massive mountains that surrounded them.

"Okay, Sam. Tell me what you see, feel, and hear!" Yassop smiles as he looks down at her. Sam purses her lips and closes her eyes.

"I hear the flapping of the sails, the call of birds, the crackling of stone, and the swish of the boat cutting through the water. I feel that there are 6 birds in my shot range, I feel the breeze of the air in my face. I see that we are surrounded by the mountains." Sam looks up at Yasopp and he smiles and nods.

"Good, but what can you tell me about those birds you felt?" Sam frowns and closes her eyes. There wasn't much more she could tell than the number of animals in the area. Maybe one was larger than the others, but that's it. Sam opens her eyes to look at Yassop shakes her head and shrugs. The pat on the head is not really welcomed but she lets it go for the mean time.

"That's okay, I sometimes forget that you're only 10. What you need to look for is which one is the song bird hunting for her babies, which are the babies, which one is the magpie approaching the unguarded nest, and which is the one just looking for a mate?" Sam frowns even harder and shuts her eyes again to figure out which one is which but is ultimately unsuccessful. Shaking her head again the man pats her head again before shooting in the general direction where she knew that there was a grouping of a few birds.

She supposes that makes sense. The babies would be grouped together in the nest. The ship move further forward and her eyes spot the nest in one of the branches that decorate the mountain with no small amount of difficulty. Her eyes then land on the dead magpie in the middle of the song birds nest and the loudly chirping chicks next to the bird.

"Well, shit." Sam states an stunned disbelief that he made that type of shot from such a distance. Yasopp smiles a cheeky smile.

"Yup, magpies are known for killing song birds and killing their babies, but on the other hand magpies are really smart and can even recognize their own reflections in mirrors! Some say they have their own mourning ritual, it's neat to read about if you have the time. But I like to think that the momma song bird would be a lot sadder if she came back to the nest to find all her babies gone. But what it all comes down to is; nature will be nature. I try not to think about it too much because I like all types of birds. They all have their value somewhere in the world.

Anyway, you should really train your haki more, then you'd be able to even tell which types of birds are around you! Pretty cool stuff, ne?" He sends her a silly smile. Sam smiles a little behind her mask and nods.

* * *

Sam is sitting on the railing of the ship watching the sunrise while most of the crew was hung over after Otto passed her test with flying colors. She felt both proud and sad. Because with all the time she spent with the men on the ship she had grown attached to them. Pushing back the blue bucket hat that Shanks had bought her in that little fishing shop on Oasis Isle. But she knew her brothers were waiting for her and she needed to help them get ready for the Grand Line.

"Sam?" At the sound of her name she glances over her shoulder to see a hung over Shanks coming over to sit next to her with a cup of coffee already in his hand.

"What are you doing up so early, I thought for sure I wouldn't see your face until 12:00 P.M." Sam asks as she removes her mask and glasses. Shanks snorts at her retort.

"I wanted to catch you before the others were up, be glad I managed to get my ass out of bed at all." Shanks smiled sarcastically, Sam feels she may have rubbed off a bit on the man.

"Anyway, all joking aside, you never did tell us where your brothers are at and I need to see if we have a logpose for the destination or if we need to find one," Sam allows a little smirk to tug at her lips. Shanks is sure that it's the only smirk, besides his old captains, that sends a jolt of wariness through his entire body.

"Maa, well it's this little place called Dawn Island." Shank spits out the coffee that he'd been taking a sip of and drops the cup into the ocean.

"You really shouldn't litter Shanks." Sam snickers to herself. The glare she gets from him has her holding her stomach in laughter at the look.

"You planned that, I know you did! You little pest!" He pokes her in the side and she jolts away at the ticklish place.

"But seriously? You're from the same village as Luffy?" Shanks looks all excited. Sam smiles back a nods.

"Well, I wasn't born in the Windmill Village, I was born in the Goa Kingdom to nobles. Along with Sabo my twin. We found Ace along the way and he was just kind of the peanut butter to Sabo's jelly. I, of course, couldn't say no to freckles when he looked so lonely." Sam's smile slowly fades at the thought that she was going back to the place where her fake parents were and the risk she was taking for even going back at all.

"Nobles? Really?" Shanks looked highly skeptically. Sam looks over to him to and give him a self-deprecating grin.

"I wasn't going to play their game and marry some shitty inbred royal guy to make their twisted little dreams come true. I ran with my brother into Gray Terminal and Mt. Corvo. Best decision I ever made, honestly. But Outlook had to go and make a deal with Doflamingo, and Vergo eventually found me. I sailed with them for a few years so they didn't target my brothers, then I ran with Corazon and Law for almost a year, after over exerting my Devil Fruit I was taken to Crocus to recover.'

"That was when I asked Crocus to train me, I was tired of being useless to my family and friends. You don't know how many times I wished I was a better doctor every time I looked over to Law and saw him suffering so much. I wanted to heal him but I just didn't have the knowledge and we were looking for a doctor who we would have to trust with something so delicate.'

"But the news of the Op-Op no mi was sort of like a god send. Then when I thought I saw the light at the end of the tunnel with Law having the fruit, Corazon was shot, and I was exhausted after overusing my power and nearly killed myself trying to save him." She's not sure why she spills her guts to Shanks, but he never took it upon himself to judge her, ever…

She also finds herself surprised that she did feel shame at being a child of a noble, she always thought she would be above such things due to her maturity. But even while she was sailing with the Red-Haired pirates she was still seeing the reach of the Celestial Dragons. She refused to even set foot on Sabaody when they had a pit stop for Shanks to meet Rayleigh. Shanks and Beckman had suspicions, but Sam never really talked about herself when they sailed. Feeling more comfortable distancing herself from the crew unless they needed something.

"Your old man sold you off to the pirate underworld? Well, no wonder you freaked when we had to make a pit stop on Sabaody." Shanks nods as the pieces start to come together. Sam had barricaded herself in the med bay the entire time and refused to come out to eat. Lucky Roo had to bring her meals to her for the entire duration. She'd taken to wearing cloaks and not even responding to the name Sam, demanding they call her Doctor, or any variation on that name. It was how they all formed a variation on the title of doctor for her.

Sam looks over her shoulder to give the captain a wry smirk and nods. She turns back to the water, and leans further on her knees to look out over the waves that looked more like a sea of fire with the rising sun illuminating the water.

"What can I say, I've never been an easy child. They never liked that I could always see the filth that High Town was steeped in before I could even walk. I could never stand for it. It made me sick watching them exclude the people of Gray Terminal. The only medical treatment in the place is a small manor in Edge Town and the doctors charge exorbitant prices for just stiches. Gray Terminal has no access to medication, vaccinations, or anything nearing proper medical care and are left to die in squalor. The selective breeding that everyone seemed so fond of in High Town was more like a eugenics program than anything else." Sam frowns in disgust as her memories of the place come back to her. She had been blocking off all thoughts of her brothers since sailing with Doflamingo, out of sheer self-preservation. She can notice a considerable difference in her thought patterns since setting sail and it was just more evidence of her having the developing mind of a child.

"Are you sure it's safe to go back to the island? I can't have you putting my little protégé in harms way." Shanks interrupts her inner tangent at his question.

"You know, I'm gonna need a captain after I train my brothers… I honestly can't be bothered to captain my own ship, and my twin will want to go in a different direction than myself, and Ace is too hot headed for me to join his crew. If this kid, Luffy, is as promising as you say he is…he might need a surgeon on his crew. I also make a pretty good sharp shooter. I've been thinking about it for a while now…So, if he isn't too terrible…I think I'd like to ask to join…maybe." Sam trails off. She knows she would be kind of troublesome with her past with the government, but if he could give her the chance. She would like to be part of the adventure.

"Oh, really? Well that's a relief, at least he has the best surgeon he could ever get!" Shanks pushes the bucket hat further down her head so it covered her eyes. Sam forcibly shoves her blush down and ignores Shanks heartfelt laughter.

"I always knew there was something special about that kid, this just proves it! Just wait till I tell Beckman! The little Dictator Doc wants to join Anchor's crew! Dahahaha! I can't wait to see Otto's face at the news!" Shanks exclaims as he throws his head back in loud laughter and holds his stomach with one hand.

Sam pushes her hat up to look at Shanks. She knows she shouldn't but she does anyway.

"Aren't you more worried I will bring problems to Luffy because of the interest of the government?" Shanks smiles and shakes his head.

"Nah, you told me you have a plan right! Well you've never lied once while on this ship, so I have faith in you!" Sam bites her lip and nods in agreement.

* * *

Ace likes to think that today was a good day. He managed to get quite the haul from Gray Terminal in one nabbing. He was actually surprised with the amount of money those thugs were carrying. But the men themselves weren't much of a challenge when he fought them for the loot. Ace travels through the woods to their pirate savings, knowing that Sabo would be there waiting for him.

"Sabo! Sabo, are you there?!" Ace calls up to his friend. He sees Sabo pop his head over the edge of the tree leaves to look down at the brunette.

"Oh! Ace!" Sabo smiles widely and holds out a hand to help his friend the rest of the way up and over the larger vines at the top. The taller boy throws the bag of valuables on to the tree top so he can get a better grip on the bark, before he sits himself across from Sabo with his bag of loot in front of him.

"Sorry I'm late." Ace apologizes, because it was late morning, almost early afternoon already. They would usually have all their money stolen for the day early morning, so they could spend the rest of the day training.

Sabo isn't above mocking him for being so late either. Not that he minded that much at the teasing. "You sure are! I've already done some work in the city."

Ace is excited to brag a bit about the amount of loot he collected in one grab. "Oh yeah? Well, I did, too." And now that he thinks about it, it is quite a bit. Not that he wasn't happy about it, but usually people were more careful in Gray Terminal with carrying large amounts of money on themselves.

Ace and Sabo smile at one another. Before speaking in unison, "At once!" They both open the bags of stolen valuables.

Sabo is the first to comment on the amount he has from his target. "Oh wow, you got way more than I did! That's a lot of money! How'd you get all of that! I haven't seen that much in one haul since we had Sam helping us." Ace ignores that small pang in his chest at their missing group member. But that was the whole point of the pirate savings, they were going to buy a boat and set sail. Sabo already started studying books on navigation.

"I robbed some thugs at the main gate." Ace smiles as he leans back against the tree placing his pipe in his lap as he watches Sabo count the amount they brought in today.

"Damn! You won again!" Sabo pouts and Ace has to smirk, because Sabo never won against him. He was the strongest between them and it reminds him of when Sam would pinch his best friends cheeks and coo at him.

But Ace is feeling fond at the moment, "It doesn't matter if you win or lose. It's been 5 years since we started to put money in our pirate savings. We worked hard for it!" He encourages his friend.

Sabo smiles back at Ace. "Yeah, we did. We're gonna leave the East Blue and go somewhere these people have never dreamed of. It's exciting just to think about it!" The older boy feels something in his chest tighten as he thinks about the adventure ahead of him with Sabo and Sam at his side.

Nodding his head back at his friend in agreement, Ace starts to feel that their treasure has been out in the open for too long and tells Sabo to put the money away.

"I wonder how much we need to get a pirate ship?" Sabo idly wonders as he pushes the money further down into the tree.

Ace isn't really all that sure, but for a small ship he guesstimates. "I don't know 10 million or 100 million maybe? Long way to go!" But he knows they can do it, because they are both determined.

The little cry baby, of course, has to stick his nose where it was never wanted. "A pirate ship?! You guys! Are you gonna become pirates?! I'm gonna become one, too!" Sabo and Ace share a glance and nod in agreement before climbing down the tree to chase after the troublesome kid.

* * *

Note: No Magpies were hurt in the making of this chapter, I actually think they're pretty badass except for the whole cannibalism thing with baby birds. They also eat other birds alive, which is super weird. But they do recognize themselves in mirrors, which is rare in the animal kingdom. Some of this is rehash of Sam's past, again, I know, but Shanks will need to know some of the knowledge in the _way_ future of this story. Like seriously, have you seen how crazy the _Reverie Arc_ in the manga is so far...One Piece has consumed my brain, I have too many ideas floating around in my head.

Anyway, I swear to god you guys strive to make me ugly cry in happiness with your reviews, favorites, and follows. I feel very lucky to have such awesome people leaving such great reviews, and having people actively interested in my writing.

I'm never sure if I should respond personally to reviews you guys leave or if that's weird. Despite how long I've been on here, I'm still not quite sure of etiquette. I apologize if I'm doing it all wrong. I'm an introvert and am sort of stuck in a permanent awkward turtle phase.

Now that we're done with me gushing over you, me talking about my questionable research skills, and the status of my social survival skills (being nil); I have to tell you what's next! A little cameo from Shanks and his crew, seeing Sam off. ASLS action, Porchemy, Bluejam, Dadan, the mountain bandits, a white pup named Pochi, and adventure.


	17. Troublesome Brothers

As soon as they capture the little brat, they tie Luffy to a large tree. Ace has to wonder how he gets himself into these bizarre situations. He's sure that the crybaby has something to do with it—this time. Ace is pretty clueless as to what to do with the kid. How does one prevent an idiot from blabbing about their treasure. Ace is pulled from his thoughts when the pest opens his big fat mouth.

"Ace! I didn't know that you traveled this far every day!" Luffy smiles encouragingly, waiting for Ace to reply. It's like the guy thought they were best friends or something. No matter how many times the fluffy headed idiot followed him through the woods, or how many times he's almost killed him. He still smiled at him familiarly, like none of that mattered! What was wrong with this guy?

Ace scowls at Luffy and gets in his face, "Shut up!". He snaps at the grinning menace.

Sabo distracts him from his yelling by asking a question. "Is this the Luffy that you were talking about?" Ace glances over quickly to see his friend giving the pest a contemplating look.

"Oh? You told him about me!?" Frowning, Ace turns his attention back to the idiot. That stupidly wide, gleaming smile would be the death of him. It causes something in his gut to twist and churn. It reminds him of every time the guy got up and just smiled at him. Like having someone almost kill you on a daily basis was just a minor inconvenience.

His temper was slowly building and he was headed for an explosion, "I told him how annoying you are!" Ace snaps at Luffy.

"He also told me that you're empty headed." Sabo tacks on to his insult. Which he really had every right to, he has had to endure him complaining about the kid long enough. Ace was also sort of at fault though for this whole situation. Sabo had wanted him to come live with him in the woods.

The only reason he'd not done exactly that was that he enjoyed traveling through the woods from Dadan's. It was a familiar pattern that he could count on every day. The only thing that seemed to be routine in his life and wasn't done flying by the seat of his pants. But the obnoxious voice of the little brat has him turning his attention back to the situation.

"Oh yeah?" Despite the fact they are insulting him right to his face, he still smiles that stupid smile. Ace wants to punch it off his face, no smile had ever caused this amount of irritation in him. Maybe it was like an after effect of that devil fruit he'd eaten, but that didn't make any sense when he thought about Sam. Sure she was irritating when she wanted to be, but that was just Sam being Sam.

Sabo looks stunned that Luffy is still smiling even when they were being so rude to him.

"You don't even realize that we're dissing you, do you?" Ace can hear the confusion in Sabo's voice, even he had to admit that it was pretty blatant that they didn't want him anywhere near them.

Ace interrupts the question, the exasperation he feels at the entire situation slowly building like a mounting volcano. He should have known it would have happened eventually. "He finally got me here, although I didn't take any walkable routes." Ace bites his lip as he tries to figure out how the kid tracked him all the way here. Why was this guy so persistent?!

Luffy completely ignores his voiced thoughts and starts to try and make friends with Sabo, not even thinking twice about the fact he is tied to a tree at their mercy, "Are you a friend of Ace's? Be my friend, too, buddy!" Ace frowns at the words.

Sabo looks at the kid like he's crazy, which in Ace's opinion is very likely, "Shut up! You can't call me "buddy"!" His friend shouts back at the brat for being so presumptuous. He probably feels as confused as Ace does. This kid wasn't normal.

Luffy smiles at Sabo's temper and still tries to make friends with the blond. "Then what's your name?" He asks cheerfully, completely taking the blond off guard.

"Sa… I'm not telling you! This is why I told you to live here with me! The daily round trip—training on the mountain road turned out to be bad! What should we do?" Sabo is scowling at Ace now and he does feel bad about leading the kid here. This was where he an Sam had originally set up camp and now they would have to change where they kept the treasure as well as where Sabo slept.

Ace tries to reassure his friend that there was a way to fix this, and there was only one way to do that. "He found our secret. He's gonna tell somebody if nothing is done. We gotta kill him." Ace nods his head in approval of his own plan.

Sabo is quick to agree with him, clearly seeing the logic in his words. "Alright, let's do it."

Of course the brat has to protest so loudly that they could probably hear him all the way in the North Blue! "WHAT?! Don't kill me! Help me! I don't wanna die!" Sabo is the first to try to quiet the little idiot.

"Shut up, you fool!" Sabo lunges forward to cover the boy's mouth.

Ace is starting to panic because drawing attention to this place is literally the last thing they need at the moment. "Sabo, kill him already!" He snaps at his friend, didn't Sam teach him?!

Sabo looks stunned that he even suggested such a thing. Well he didn't mean to offend him. "What? I've never killed anybody before! I don't know how! You do it!" He snaps back at Ace.

Ace frowns right back, because he didn't know how to kill someone. Sure he'd seen Sam shoot someone in the spine when they threatened her. But he didn't have a gun and the kid was made of rubber so his pipe would do absolutely nothing. "I've never killed anyone before either! Where the hell is Sam when you need her!?" Ace runs his fingers through his hair in frustration, ignoring the dark look Sabo sends him.

Of course the kid has to make it easier than stealing from the trash that lived in Gray Terminal. "Don't throw me into water!" He shouts in panic as he kicks and screams at the air.

But it sounds easy enough to just drop the pest into the river. "Okay, let's head to the river!" Ace announces as he places his hands on his hips. But Sabo and his logic have to get in the way of a perfectly good plan.

"Why did he tell us that?" Sabo questions him as he tilts his top hat further back on his head to look at Ace in utter confusion. The answer is really not all that complicated.

"Because he's an idiot!" Ace snaps as he crosses his arms defensively against his chest. The kid was getting louder and louder, it was making Ace nervous. If anyone else found this place their years of hard work would be ruined by all the money being taken.

"Help me!" The menace kept whining, and Ace has had it, he wants to just shut the kid up. Sabo seems to be in agreement because they shout at him to be quiet at the same time. Couldn't the pest see that they were having a conversation that didn't concern him.

Ace ignores the fact that they were essentially talking about how they were going to kill him. Who needed logic anyway? But the cries of the kid eventually draw unwanted attention and Ace grits his teeth in frustration. Nothing seemed to be going his way today and it was all that fluffy headed freaks fault.

"I hear someone near the forest!" Ace goes white as he realizes that people were in the forest and they could potentially hear everything they were saying. He couldn't let anything happen to either Sabo or the brat. It was his job to kill Luffy, no one else's!

Ace is distracted from his thoughts as Sabo starts to panic. That was the last thing he needed, the one person with a brain freaking out on him. "Oh no! Somebody is coming!" Sabo hisses as he gets closer to Ace.

Making a final decision, he gives his orders, he was the oldest and it was his job to protect these two. "Set him free for now! We gotta move from here or they're gonna find our treasure!" Ace helps Sabo untie the ropes, and they make a run for it.

An older man's voice spoke out above the rest and it had Ace's heart beating faster and faster. He recognized that voice..."Everybody knows those kids around here. Ace and Sabo. Are you sure it was Ace who took the money?"

"Yes. We're sorry. We shouldn't let our guard down." Ace bites his lip hard, because he knew that was the voice of one of the men he stole from this morning. If he was chasing after him with the older man, he knew they were screwed.

The older man begins to speak again and Ace listens carefully. "How outrageous that kid is! He can't just steal our money! If captain Bluejam finds out about this, he's gonna kill us all!" Ace's heart drops at the information. These guys were pirates, like real pirates with huge knives and totally okay with killing little kids.

"Damn it! I didn't know that those thugs were working for Bluejam!" Ace curses his shit luck and knows that he would have to find a way out of this. Thinking faster than he ever probably ever has, he tries to focus on the situation. These were the times he wishes that Sam was with them, even more than usual, because she was the most helpful in running damage control. And man did they need exactly that at the moment.

"You mean you stole that money from them?" He could hear the high panic in Sabo's voice and it did nothing to help the same panic he was feeling. It wasn't like he did it on purpose, they weren't wearing the jolly roger anywhere on themselves. How the hell was he supposed to know they were part of a pirate crew. Even if they were part of a crew, they were extremely weak, why would they trust them with a ton of loot?!

"I shouldn't have stolen that money… He has a real sword. That's Porchemy who works under Bluejam." Ace admits, yeah, they were pretty screwed at the moment.

Sabo looks at him like he just committed a high crime, and he should have his head checked for the amount of stupidity it took to steal from Porchemy. "He's crazy. Did you know that? He strips off your scalp alive after you lose a fight with him!" Ace purses his lips at the thought and decides on the easiest course of action.

"Let's just let them pass for now." He was pretty confident in that choice, it would keep the two away from danger. They could come up with something else when they had more time and weren't running on nerves. Of course, the kid had to cause even more problems.

"Where is he!?" Sabo hisses to Ace and he turns his head to notice that Luffy was no longer hiding next to them. Something akin to panic curls in his chest. He quickly turns his head to the noise the kid was making.

"Let me go! What do you want from me?" Ace grits his teeth at the idiot. This was a new level of stupid, even criminals knew when to hide, especially against stronger opponents. Ace ignores the fact he regularly challenged stronger opponents, but even he didn't go up to pirates!

Both Sabo and Ace hiss in unison, "How could you get caught?" Even though they knew the kid couldn't hear them it still dumbfounded them that he could be captured so quickly.

"Let me go! You bastard!" He kicks out at Porchemy and Ace has to admire his energy.

Porchemy shakes the kid and asks his men, "Who is this little shit?" Ace was trying to keep a cool head and he thinks so long as the kid says nothing about him he should be safe and they could get out of here, no problem.

"Help me! Ace!" Said boy clenches his fists in frustration, this kid could not get more troublesome! How many times was this guy dropped on his head when he was a kid. Ace decides that no matter how many times he's sent humongous trees rolling at the brat he was not at fault for his stupidity,

Ace whispers to Sabo about what's going on when he notices that he is giving him a confused look. "That fool! He's calling my name!"

Porchemy pauses for a moment and looks the kid straight in the eye. "Did you just call for "Ace"?" He asks slowly as he brings Luffy closer to his face.

The brat has enough idiocy to actually back sass the guy with the incredibly sharp sword. "So what?" He stares defiantly back at the man and Ace has to wonder when this kid would get a shred of self-preservation.

"Do you know Ace?" Porchemy asks leadingly as he eyes the kid with interest. Ace is sweating because this answer could either make or break the situation.

"Of course! I'm his friend! Oh, but he just tried to kill me."

Ace facepalms and has to suppress the need to shake the stupid out of the kid. "That fool! He's such a big mouth!" Ace hisses to himself.

The smile that creeps across Porchemy's face has something uncomfortable settling in his stomach. "I don't know if you know this but I heard that Ace stole some money from us and ran today. You don't know where it is now, do you?" Ace grits his teeth at the threat of losing all of their progress in their pirate fund, and they would have to make Sam wait that much longer.

"Oh no! They're gonna take all our treasure away!" Sabo seems to be on the same wavelength as him.

"I hope that fool doesn't tell them!" Ace echoes his thoughts, because they were so screwed if the brat decided to spill his guts like he seemed to love to do.

Porchemy waits patiently for the kid to start speaking. "Well, do you know?" He prods as he shakes the brat a bit.

"I-I don't know?" Ace silently groans at Luffy's inability to lie. They were so screwed.

Porchemy is less than pleased at this. He grips the kid's leg tighter and starts to walk away. "Alright, alright! It can't be helped if you don't know. Don't worry, I'll help you bring back the memory." The mad laughter that comes from the guy is bone chilling. The kid would probably spill his guts, but if they could move the treasure fast enough they would have a chance of making it out of this situation with their money intact.

The brat starts to struggle in earnest and something in Ace screams at him for letting them take him away, but he shoves that voice down because he has things that need doing. Like protecting the treasure before the kid started blabbing.

"What are you doing?! Let me go! Where are you taking me?! Damnit! Stupid! Let me go!" Ace ignores the kids yelling and struggling to start planning with Sabo.

Sabo adjusts his top hat and asks, "What should we do?" Ace looks over to him with a serious frown.

"You know what we have to do…" Ace tells him before running for their treasure.

* * *

Sabo was concerned, not that that didn't happen often after Sam was taken, but it was rare for him to be concerned about a stranger. At least since Sam dragged Ace into his life. "They still don't know where we are? I thought they would know by now… Oh no!" It clicks in his head then, with all the force of an exploding firecracker. Sabo runs, faster than he's ever run, because he can't have another's blood on his hands, not again.

Sabo shouts his friends name as soon as he approaches the new hiding spot for their treasure, "ACE!" Sabo is hunched over his knees, panting in exhaustion. He sincerely regrets not finding breakfast earlier this morning.

Sabo is drawn from his self-castigation when Ace responds to his calls, "Sabo! What's wrong? Have they shown up to look for the money?" He can hear the concern in his voice. But there is no need for it, because the idiot, Luffy, wouldn't spill their secrets.

"No, they haven't! And I bet they won't!" Sabo screams up to Ace. The clenching in his stomach feeling more like a vice grip.

Ace pauses as if trying to register that the kid did them a solid and didn't give up the location of the treasure, which could very well mean his life if they did nothing. "What do you mean?" Sabo feels the buildings of panic.

"That kid, Luffy… He hasn't told them anything! I'm sure that they're torturing him! I thought that he'd just tell them because he's dumb and cries so much! It doesn't make sense! If nothing is done, he'll…" He can see when Ace connects the dots.

* * *

Sam could feel her anxiousness turning in her stomach as the Red Force came closer and closer to Dawn Island. Taking in the sight of the island through the periscope, she bites her lip.

"Feeling anxious, Sam." She looks over her shoulder to see Shanks with a light smile on his face. Rolling her eyes she turns her gaze back to the approaching island. Was she nervous? Perhaps only a little, she hadn't seen her brothers in so long. Was Luffy now a part of their group? Would she be welcomed back? All these questions and more were racing through her head.

"Well, there is not much time left to worry. We're heading inland. Are you ready?" Sam swallows hard and nods before stealing herself for the onslaught of memories.

* * *

Ace had just about ran the gamut of emotions. From shock, fear, anger, happiness, protectiveness, and so on. But now all he felt was exhaustion, and the crybaby's tears were doing nothing to help his mood. Sabo was also taking the time to bitch at him about his promise to never run away from a fight. Sure, it was a dangerous motto to live by but it suited him to a 'T'. It also assured him that nothing would ever happen to his friends if he stayed behind and had their back while they escaped.

But Ace had other things on his mind at the moment, like the fact Porchemy had ruined his favorite pipe. He was pissed because the one he had now was so uncomfortable in his grip. He hadn't had a chance to break this one in like his other one, but he continued to wrap it and swing it to get a better grip on it.

"Do you have a death wish or something, Ace?" Sabo complains as he leans against the new treasure tree.

Ace ignores everyone in the little clearing as he surveys the pipe in his hand. "It still doesn't feel right and I liked the other one I had." He grumbles as he starts swinging and twirling the pipe.

"We made a mistake and the Bluejam pirates will not forgive us." Sabo bites his lip and Ace actually takes the time to briefly look at him, he wasn't the biggest fan of pirates after the whole Sam situation. But Ace had managed to convince him that they could be different. They wouldn't attack little kids or hurt people who didn't deserve it. It was possible, he was sure of it. But Sabo still had reservations on such claims. The last thing he needed tonight was convincing Sabo that they would never become as trashy as Bluejam and his gang.

"It was scary! I thought I was going to die if I wasn't saved by you guys!" Ace is snapped out of his thoughts by the cry baby. The twinge of irritation at the blubbering is all that it takes, he has officially reached his limit on the little pest. There was only so much Luffy he could handle in a day and he had surpassed that over an hour ago.

"You're so annoying, shut up, and stop crying! I don't like cowards who cry so much!" Ace screams at him and he's surprised that it actually stops his crying. He's unsure what to feel. Luffy always kept him off balance, and he didn't like it.

"Thanks for helping me." Ace can see that the kid is struggling not to cry anymore and he rolls his eyes and continues to fiddle with the pipe in his hands before a question pops into his mind, well, it had been on his mind for a while he just hadn't gotten the chance to ask with all that was going on at the time.

"Why didn't you give up the treasure in the first place. They are the type of people who kill women and children without hesitation." He tells him not even bothering to look at him. But by the end of his answer he feels like something inside him is squeezing. He remembers the only other time he's ever felt that feeling was when he was a five year-old and shouting at a weird blonde kid in an alley.

"I thought that if I said anything that Ace wouldn't be my friend. It's better than dying, isn't it?" The clueless look in his eyes and the complete trust makes him feel violent urges for making himself so vulnerable. The brat should be more careful on who he trusts!

"Why the hell do you want to be my friend so much!?" Ace asks in dumbfounded shock.

"Because," Luffy looks at him wide-eyed and trusting. As if that explained anything!

"Didn't I give you a hard time until now? How could you follow me this far?" He asks frustrated. All he wanted was a straight answer. What the hell was the kid after, he had to be after something that he put up with so much shit. He finally finds his answer when the dam breaks.

"Because I have no one else to trust! I can't go back to Windmill Village and I don't like mountain bandits. If I didn't follow you I would be all alone! Being lonely is more painful than getting hurt!" He shouts and Ace sees an image of himself being smaller and staring at the families that dotted the outskirts of Edgetown. Parents holding their kids hands and pushing them on the swings, laughing, and hugging each other.

"Where are your parents?" Ace asks as he stares at the little kid who was essentially dropped off with mountain bandits he's never once met. The puzzle pieces were coming together. He just needed a few more questions answered.

"Gramps is all I have." Luffy tells him and the final piece clicks into place and he realizes that kid had never had a family, a mother, father, or anyone else. Shitty Gramps was not a parent in any shape or form.

"Is it easy for you when I'm around? And hard when I am not?" Ace asks genuinely curious at his answer.

"Uh-huh," the brat, which he would forever be, nods and something warms in his chest. He asks the one question that he hadn't asked since Sam had stormed her way into his life.

"Do you want me to live?" Luffy looks completely confused at the question, but gives him an answer nonetheless.

"Of course I do!" He shouts and Ace narrows his eyes in frustration. This kid was so confusing.

"But I hate spoiled kids like you!" Ace drops down from the tree limb he was sat in and gets in Luffy's face to start arguing. That was something he could handle.

"I'm not spoiled! I'm strong!" Luffy yells back. Ace grits his teeth at the stupid kid. He could remember all the times that he sent the kid flying after kicking down trees. He also remembers all the boulders he had sent chasing him down hills and cliffs.

"Strong?! You're not strong at all! You cry like a girl!" Ace shouts red faced, getting in close to make his point. He doesn't even notice the slight ruffling of trees. But the voice sure as fuck gets his attention.

"Maa, let's not bring gender into this Ace, yeah? Last time I checked your bounty was approximately zero. I don't think you have the authority to criticize girls at this point."

Ace feels all the blood drain from his face and his heartbeat stops for a couple seconds. He slowly turns his head to look over his shoulder. His jaw drops when he sees the girl with long strawberry blonde hair pulled back in a bandanna. One hand removes the glasses covering familiar piercing ice blue eyes. A slim finger then pulls the white mask from her face revealing a wide wild smile with a small scar on the upper lip. He barely registers the short overalls she was wearing and the black undershirt. Ace didn't even notice when he dropped to his knees in shock.

"...Sam...is it really you." Ace is drawn from his shock when his best friend stares frozen at the girl. It's then he really notices the similarities between the two. The same wavy hair, wide smile, small nose, and round eyes. Their eye color completely different and Sabo still had a missing tooth while the other had a full set of teeth.

"Well, yeah, who the fuck do you think I am?" The look of 'are you a dumb ass or something' is pure 100% Sam. His head can't take the changes today has brought, and he faints.

* * *

She would never admit that her heart just about fell out of her mouth when she was met with the sight of her brothers. However, she would forever hold it over Ace's head that she made him faint. Sam looks over to the fallen frame of her best friend and scratches her head. How troublesome.

Sam hadn't gotten to the island until later that evening. A logistical error with a waterspout, a sea monster, and a whirlpool. She's just glad everyone was in one piece and no one was missing any limbs or, you know, lives. She had managed to track the worn footprints from their previous hideout to some new tree. It wasn't half as nice as the previous place but they could make it work. She would need to teach them about hiding their tracks though, because it was pretty simple figuring out how to find them. But perhaps that was because she knew her twin and Ace.

A mass of a human body that slams her into the ground is not at all unexpected, and she hugs him back just as tight. She feels the tears soaking her neck and she holds him even tighter and runs her fingers through the short tufty hair he had, the top hat had fallen to the ground when he slammed into her.

"Maa, Sabo, there's no need to cry. You know I suck at this emotional stuff." Sam tells him softly, if a bit uncomfortably, but she makes no move to get rid of him and actually holds him tighter to herself.

She hears movement and she watches as Luffy sits crossed legged next to her head. Taking a finger, he pokes her in the head and it has her freezing. Sam takes a moment to take in his appearance, and it was a bit underwhelming. He was just a short scrawny kid, but she could still feel the same raw power she felt from Law, but it was about ten times stronger.

"Who're you? Are you important to Ace, too?" He asks innocently. Sam blinks and is unsure how to respond to such a question. She supposes that she was important to Ace. He was her brother and best friend.

"Name's Sam, Ace is my brother." Luffy's already large eyes widen even further as he takes in the information.

"Really?! That's so cool!" Sam smiles at his excitement and nods in agreement.

* * *

AN: The frustrating thing is that this was actually longer, had more scenes, and was more detailed. I had the original copy on my Fanfiction flash drive that I keep so I don't clog up my computer with a ton of word documents. But, losing a flash drive and trying to find it on a packed public bus full of really unhelpful people is actually a lot harder than it sounds. I won't go into it, but I spent the better part of Wednesday night, all of Thursday, and today trying to rewrite this from memory and I feel that it will never be as good as the original. But I told you guys July 20th so here it is. I'll go back and add more to it when I get the time and actually retype the plot. But for now I hope its okay.

Anyway, like I tell you, I try to give updates about life and my writing on my profile every late Friday/early Saturday (or on whatever days holidays fall) So, you guys know I'm not dead and just in general giving updates. I might switch it to a different platform at a later date, but my profile is fine for now. Anyway, thank you for understanding my schedule and taking the time to favorite, follow, and review. I truly appreciate it.

Next chapter I'll actually get to explanations, talking, Dadan, Mountain bandits, and Pochi. Some other stuff as well.


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